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{J - f 0CW'. # 

A / / 

TREATISE 

ON THE 



MATERIA MEDICA 



INTENDED AS 



A SEQUEL 



llftarmacojjocia of tfte Hutte* States 



AN ACCOUNT 

OF THE 

ORIGIN, QUALITIES AND MEDICAL USES OF THE ARTICLES AND 

COMPOUNDS, WHICH CONSTITUTE THAT WORK, WITH 

THEIR MODES OF PRESCRIPTION AND 

ADMINISTRATION. 



BY JACOB BIGELOW, M. D. 

AUTHOR OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL BOTANY, AND PROFESSOR OF 
MATERIA MEDICA IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY. 



BOSTON: 
PUBLISHED BY CHARLES EWER, NO. 51, CORNHILL. 

1822. 



T?S 



\S3 

.3 ST 



District Clerks Office. 

BE it remembered, that on the twenty-third day of September, A. D. 
1822, in the forty-seventh year of the Independence of the United States 
of America, Charles Ewer of the said District has deposited in this office 
the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor in the words 
following, to wit : 

u A Treatise on the Materia Medica, intended as a Sequel to the Phar- 
macopoeia of the United States : Being an Account of the Origin, Quali- 
ties and medical Uses of the Articles and Compounds, which constitute 
that Work, with their Modes of Prescription and Administration. By 
Jacob Bigelow, M. D. Author of the American Medical Botany, and 
Professor of Materia Medica in Harvard University." 

In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled 
" An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of 
maps, charts and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, 
during the times therein mentioned :" and also to an act entitled, " An 
act supplementary to an act, entitled, An act for the encouragement of 
learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts and books to the authors 
and proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned ; and 
extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving and 
etching historical and other prints. " 

JNO. W. DAVIS, 
Clerk of the District of Massachusetts. 



J-li'tk* 



t 



Phelps and Farnham, 
Printers. 



J> 



5? 



TO 



JAMES JACKSON, M. D. 

professor of the theory and practice of physic in 
harvard university. 

Dear Sir, 
In dedicating to you this medical volume, I am 
desirous to express the high respect which, in 
common with the rest of our profession, I entertain 
for your character, talents and erudition; and the 
grateful sense, with which I recollect your long- 
continued friendship. 

Very sincerely yours, 

3. as. 



ERRATA. 



Page 109, line 2, for ten read forty — and line 3 for fifteen read fifty, 
Page 186, line 5 from bottom, for except to form, read See. 



PREFACE. 



± he publication of the American Pharmacopoeia may be 
regarded as an event highly favourable to the interests of 
medicine in the United States. What experience has 
abundantly proved, in regard to similar publications in 
other countries, is beginning to be realized in this. The 
adoption of a common language in an important department 
of medical science, and the limitation of names, previously 
indefinite, to specific and determinate objects, confer a se- 
curity on the practice of medicine, which must be prized by 
all, who have at heart the good of the profession and of 
the community. 

A pharmacopoeia, however, is in its nature circumscribed 
and technical. Its office extends no further than to indi- 
cate, definitively, the articles to be employed in medicine, 
and the preparations to be formed from them. It leaves 
an interesting field to be occupied by the description of 
those articles, the examination of the sources from which 
they are derived, the properties by which they are 
known, the objects which they fulfil in practice, and the 
manner in which they are to be applied. Believing that 



» PREFACE. 

this field might be entered on with some prospect of useful- 
ness, and that a work embracing these topics is rendered in 
a manner necessary, both by the peculiarities of the Phar- 
macopoeia and by the imperfect apprehension, which has 
occasionally prevailed in regard to some of its contents ; 
I have been induced to prepare and submit to the public the 
present supplementary volume, I have styled it a treatise 
on the Materia Medico, because it was found necessary to 
embrace within its compass some account of whatever is 
usually found in books of a similar denomination. 

The Materia Medica, like other branches of natural sci- 
ence, undergoes certain changes, from time to time, sufficient 
in importance to render new treatises continually necessa- 
ry. These changes take place partly in the nature of med- 
icines themselves, and partly in their application to disease. 
The latter, indeed, constitutes no small part of the progress 
of medical science in its largest sense. There are, besides, 
in every country, peculiarities in the sources from which 
medicines are obtained, the actual state in which they 
exist, and the mode in which they are applied to use. 
These circumstances give to new and local works an ad- 
ventitious interest over that possessed by foreign ones, 
even of greater merit. 

In the present publication, I have considered the subjects 
of the American Pharmacopoeia with reference to their 
origin, qualities, medical uses, and forms of exhibition. And 
in those articles, on which it was thought necessary to dilate 
most largely, these subjects have been presented under dis- 
tinct heads. 



PREFACE. 7 

The Origin of medicines ought so far to be kept in view, 
that the profession may always know what changes are 
taking place in the sources, from which substances are de- 
rived, and what influence such changes may exert on the 
character of any part of the Materia Medica. Not only 
does chemistry introduce continual changes in the manu- 
facture of artificial medicines ; but, in natural substances, 
agriculture and commerce may at all times produce such re- 
volutions, as entirely to shift our sources of supply, and ma- 
terially to influence the character of our drugs. The spirit 
of commercial profit, to which we are indebted for our for- 
eign articles, naturally seeks for them where they can be 
obtained at the cheapest rate. Articles of a new or unde- 
cided character will often have a commercial preference, 
because they bear an inferior price. And there is perhaps 
no branch of commerce, in which names are substituted for 
realities with more success than in the commerce of drugs. 
We find that the present sources, and sometimes the cha- 
racter, of very important medicines are essentially dif- 
ferent from what they are represented in the dispensatories 
and similar works written twenty or thirty years ago ; yet 
the names and descriptions of such dispensatories are still 
applied to them. For example, we have few druggists' stores, 
in which the Socotrine aloes may not nominally be obtained ; 
yet it is believed that very little of the aloes now consumed 
in the United States ever comes from the island of Socotora. 
Alexandrian senna is still imported in small quantities ; but 
in common use with us, it is nearly superseded by the senna 
of the East Indies. These changes are of no importance, 



8 PREFACE. 

so long as the article substituted is equal in activity to that 
of which it takes the place. But we have other changes 
and substitutions, which cannot be viewed as unimportant 
in their bearings upon medical practice. The genuine Afri- 
can Columbo has, for some years past, been nearly exclud- 
ed from our shops by an article brought in large quantities 
from New Orleans, possessing about half the bitterness of 
real columbo, and apparently the root of Frasera Walteri. 
It is just beginning to be discovered, that the real Peruvian 
bark is a scarce article in the markets of the United States, 
and that its place is taken by a cheaper bark, of a different 
character, brought from Carthagena and Carraccas, under 
the name of yellow bark, and which there are reasons for 
supposing to belong to a species of Portlandia. Our im- 
porting merchants and druggists inform me, that this Car- 
thagena bark, under the name of yellow Peruvian bark, 
constitutes, probably, nine-tenths of the reputed Cinchona 
now consumed in the United States, its wholesale price 
being to that of real bark of Peru as about one to fifteen. 

The adulteration of medicines is so easily, if not fre- 
quently, effected, that it is not always safe to buy large quan- 
tities of any medicinal substance in powder. In Gray's 
Supplement to the Pharmacopoeias may be seen half a 
dozen recipes for a " Pulvis corticis Peruviani factitius" 
one of which consists of Peruvian bark, mahogany sawdust 
and oak sawdust, ground together. In the same work is 
an artificial Cayenne pepper, which it is conscientiously re- 
commended to colour with vermilion, instead of red lead, 
which last is " injurious." In this city the occupant of a 



PREFACE. 9 

windmill was lately indicted in one of our courts, for grind- 
ing gypsum into cream of tartar. Dr. Paris mentions a 
lire in London occasioned by the owner of certain premises 
being employed in making balsam of Copaiba. 

The misapplication of names is frequently, even in 
articles of small consumption, a source of important 
errour. I have seen the Hyoscyamus niger offered for sale 
in this city under the name of blessed thistle, a harmless 
plant, still retained by the dispensatories. From the influ- 
ence of English names, we very often find Carthamus 
substituted for Crocus, Celastrus scandens for Solanum 
dulcamara, and the latter for Atropa belladonna, &c. 

The physical Qualities of medicinal substances are 
important to be known, since they not only enable us to 
distinguish one from another, but also furnish us useful 
guides in their preservation and exhibition. Among these, 
the solubility of medicines is a subject, the knowledge of 
which is continually required in practice. The composi- 
tion and chemical relations of bodies are also important 
to be known ; though probably these are of less practical 
consequence in organized, than in unorganized substances. 
Vegetable chemistry has of late years been cultivated with 
a zeal, which bids fair to bring us to the conclusion, that 
there are as many distinct chemical substances, or proxi- 
mate principles, as there are species of plants, and probably 
a great many more. Our former classes of vegetable 
principles are all subdivided ; gums and mucilages of dif- 
ferent plants are found to be unlike each other; resins 
have their peculiarities, according to the source from 



10 PREFACE. 

which they are derived ; volatile oils differ in colour, taste, 
and congealing points ; extracts, though attempts have been 
made to class them in groups, are seldom found two alike ; 
and lastly, almost every active vegetable, which has been 
examined for the purpose, has furnished forth its particular 
characteristic alkali. When we reflect, further, that every 
plant contains not only one, but several chemical constitu- 
ents ; that these are changing at different periods of its 
growth, so that what is acid to-day is sugar to-morrow ; 
that the same rhubarb and cinchona furnish different results 
under the hands of the most able chemists ; we are compel- 
led to conclude, that, however interesting in a speculative 
point of view, may be the minute chemistry of vegetables, 
yet its practical utility is seldom likely to extend beyond 
those results, which are sufficiently general to be uniform, 
permanent, and^of easy application. 

An exception will possibly be found in the vegetable 
alkalies, which have lately been developed in such numbers 
from different plants. They are undoubtedly an interest- 
ing class of bodies, since they appear, as far as experi- 
ments have been tried, to contain, in a concentrated form, 
the physiological and therapeutic energy of the plants in 
which they reside. Yet it may be justly doubted whether 
they will ever supersede those plants in practical use, since 
their formation is tedious and expensive, and a given amount 
of an alkali, when procured, is seldom equal in activity to 
the whole substance, which was sacrificed to obtain it.* 

* See an interesting paper on the vegetable alkalies in the Edinburgh 
Medical and Surgical Journal for Jan. 1, 1822. 



PREFACE. 1 1 

Under the head of Uses I have considered the physiolo- 
gical influence of medicines, and their application to 
disease. This highly important subject has been dilated 
on as far as was deemed consistent with the limits of a 
work, which must embrace the other topics of the Materia 
Medica. 

The mode of Exhibition of medicines is a point essential 
to the success of their operation. Not only the dose and 
frequency of repetition are of primary importance ; but the 
nature of the vehicle, and the circumstances of combination, 
occasionally exert a material influence on the result of their 
employment. This subject has been largely discussed by 
Fordyce, and lately by Dr. Paris. It is generally admitted 
by practitioners, that similar operative medicines increase 
the activity of each other, and that a greater effect is ob- 
tained from a compound emetic or cathartic, than from a 
proportionate weight of one of its ingredients. The incon- 
veniences of medicines are likewise often obviated by 
combination. Thus griping and strangury are prevented by 
aromatics on the one hand, and demulcents on the other. 
Where substances of an opposite nature are combined, new 
actions sometimes grow out of their modified energies, as 
in the well known sudorific powder of ipecac, and opium. 
Nevertheless it must be remembered, that useful combina- 
tions seldom need embrace more than two or three active 
articles, and that one of the greatest modern improvements 
is in the simplification of medical prescriptions. 

The chemical relations of bodies should always be con- 
sidered, not only in the composition of medicines, but in 



12 PREFACE. 

their simultaneous exhibition. Chemical actions may 
defeat the intention of the practitioner by rendering his 
medicines inert ; or they may thwart him by developing ac- 
tive powers of an opposite nature from his wishes. Thus, if 
to a febrile patient be given one day an emetic of tartarized 
antimony, and on the next a cooling draught of liquid 
acetate of ammonia ; a little soda or salt of tartar may 
perhaps prevent our emetic from operating, and convert 
our refrigerant liquid into caustic ammonia. It is on 
this account necessary, that we should guard against 
such combinations as are known to neutralize, in the sto- 
mach, the energies of active medicines, or to produce results 
of a nature different from our intentions. But, on the other 
hand, it is not essential that Ave carry our chemical scru- 
ples so far as to consider all substances incompatible, which 
produce chemical union or disunion, out of the body, and 
occasion a precipitate or a change of colour. If chemistry 
be allowed to acquire this ascendency, it will encumber 
the practice of medicine with an insufferable load of clogs 
and difficulties, and surround our commonest medicines 
with a wall of incompatibles. We should not be able to 
prescribe the Peruvian bark with chalybeates, lest it should 
turn them into ink, nor with animal food, lest tannin and 
gelatin should conspire against us and fill the stomach with 
leather. It is important to bear in mind that the digestive 
organs have a material control over the force of chemical 
agents ; that while they promote some combinations, they 
prevent others ; that they separate elements, which have 
strong mutual attractions, and dissolve bodies, which are in- 



PREFACE. 13 

soluble in common menstrua. I believe that the incom- 
patible character, given to some of our common medicines 
in books, has been deduced from chemical experiments 
more than from medical trials. I have seldom been able 
to prevent the operation of a common dose of tartarized 
antimony by giving Cinchona either with, or after it, al- 
though I have made various trials with different varieties of 
bark for this purpose. 

In the arrangement of subjects in the present work, I 
have adopted the alphabetical order as the most convenient 
for reference, rather than the pharmaceutical division of 
simples from compounds, or the more common arrange- 
ment by classes, adopted in various works on the Materia 
Medica. The alphabetical order enables us to concentrate 
in one view all that is said on a medicine and its principal 
preparations. 

In regard to the Pharmacopoeia itself, we may indulge a 
hope, that after passing through an ordeal certainly not of 
the most lenient kind, it is at length established on a basis 
of permanent utility. Its character has been sufficiently 
discussed in the journals of the day ; and the reader is par- 
ticularly referred to the Reviews of it, which have ap- 
peared in the American Medical Recorder for July, 
1821, and the Philadelphia Journal of Medical and Phy- 
sical Sciences for August, 1821, and a Reply to those Re- 
views in the American Medical Recorder for October, 1821. 
A more deliberate examination, made since the publications 
alluded to, has satisfied me that this work merited a more 
able defence, and that many of the objections, which in the 



14 PREFACE. 

haste of the moment were passed by without notice, were 
really futile and ungrounded. It is very creditable to the 
Convention, who framed this work, that under the disad- 
vantages attending their short period of co-operation, they 
should have produced a standard of pharmacy so well 
adapted to the wants of the medical community in our 
country, and possessing on the whole so few defects. A 
list of Corrigenda, published since the Pharmacopoeia, has 
done justice to the Convention in restoring, agreeably to 
their designs, some slight portions of the work, which, dur- 
ing preparation for the press, appear to have been errone- 
ously construed or transcribed. 

It is unnecessary to repeat the opinions, which I have 
formerly expressed in the Reply above alluded to, on the 
general merits of the Pharmacopoeia. When we consider 
that a work of this kind, necessary as it is, can never ema- 
nate in this country from any but a representative body of 
physicians, and must always be compiled under great 
disadvantages ; it is fair to predict, that no future publication 
of the sort among us, should such be undertaken, will ever 
be likely to surpass the present in general fitness and accura- 
cy, or be more deserving the support of the wise and dis- 
interested portion of our profession. 

Under these circumstances, it is greatly to be regretted, 
that a spirit of loose and unreflecting criticism should be 
still indulged in the pages of any work possessing so much 
authority as to give weight to its strictures among readers, 
who are not accustomed to examine and appreciate for 
themselves. I allude here to the last edition of Professor 



PREFACE. 15 

Coxe's American Dispensatory, in which, while the author 
so far admits the authority of the Pharmacopoeia as to 
new model his whole book upon its basis, he needlessly 
digresses from the path of his own subjects, to bestow un- 
deserved censures on the national work. I am not willing 
to encumber the pages of the present volume by making it 
a vehicle for medical controversy. But duty on this occa- 
sion obliges me to state, that the criticisms on the American 
Pharmacopoeia, contained in the last edition of Professor 
Coxe's Dispensatory, under the following heads, viz. Ace- 
tum scillae — Alcohol — Spiritus aetheris sulphurici — Alcohol 
ammoniatum — Antimonium tartarizatum — »Arum America- 
num — Aqua calcis — Decoctum scillae — Dracontium — Ela- 
terium — Hydrargyri oxidum cinereum — Infusum cinchonas 
cum aqua calcis, &x. — Mistura zinci sulphatis — Phytolacca 
— Pterocarpus — Succinum — Syrupus aurantii corticis — 
Tinctura cinchonae composita — Unguentum simplex; — are 
all of them erroneous and unfounded ; and this I am perfectly 
ready to show in any medical journal, in which the friends 
of that gentleman may require it. 

The present work is offered to the public as a humble 
attempt to extend the usefulness of the Pharmacopoeia, by 
a commentary on the design, character and application to 
use, of its various contents. It is not to be supposed that 
an individual can be conversant with the views of all who 
co-operated in the Pharmacopoeia ; nor does the present 
publication possess any claims to the character of an offi- 
cial production. It is no more than a brief statement of 
my own information and opinions on the subjects of which 



16 PREFACE. 

it treats. The great number of these subjects, and the 
limits which I had prescribed to myself at setting out, have 
rendered it impossible to bestow on all of them the same 
attention, which the more interesting parts have received. 
Of the numerous indigenous articles, I have given a con- 
densed account, and must refer for more extended infor- 
mation to my own work, the American Medical Botany, 
and to a work on the native plants of the Pharmacopoeia, 
which Dr. Ives, at the request of the Convention, proposes 
to publish. 

The present volume is so far original as that, with small 
exceptions, it has been written out in my own language, 
and contains my individual views and observations. In 
those particulars, with which I am not experimentally 
conversant, I have endeavoured to draw from sources of 
authority and of modern date. It has not been thought ne- 
cessary, in all cases, to point out these sources ; for a work 
which is intended to compress in a short space a multitude 
of separate and often minute facts, would be rendered 
cumbersome by such reference. As to those subjects, upon 
which chemists and physicians still disagree, and of which 
the science of Materia Medica furnishes not a few ; if in 
any case I have been drawn into error, I shall be consoled 
by the hope, which belongs also to others who tread the 
same path, that time and the progressive developement of 
knowledge, may promote the improvement botn of authors 
and of their works. 



TERMS OF CLASSIFICATION. 



x or reasons already given, the alphabetical arrangement of sub- 
jects has been adopted in this volume, in preference to any of the 
common modes of classification, which tend to divide the quali- 
ties of substances, and render a repetition of them necessary 
under different heads. Classifications, no doubt, assist the 
memory of students, and are useful in courses of instruction. Cer- 
tain terms, also, of classification will, from convenience, be always 
kept up in medical books. But since medicines have each their 
own peculiarities, the application of general characters to large 
groups of them, tends to lessen their individuality, and in some 
measure to confound their properties together. This is particu- 
larly the case, when the description of any class is rendered too 
minute, or when the properties of one or two leading substances 
are made a standard for the rest. Castor oil and elaterium are 
cathartics ; mercury and mezereon are sialagogues ; magnesia and 
muriatic acid antilithics ; yet any deduction which should be 
drawn from their community of character in this respect, and 
which should cause them to be regarded as similar medicines, 
and applicable to the same cases, would lead the student into 
material error. 

It may be expected, however, that a treatise on Materia Medica 
should contain some explanation of the mode, in which medicines 



13 TERMS OF CLASSIFICATION. 

are most commonly arranged ; and it is necessary to give defini- 
tions, at least of such general terms as continually recur among 
writers on medical science. Arrangements founded on the natu- 
ral and physical relations of bodies are at the present day but 
little used in the Materia Medica ; but such grounds of generali- 
zation as are taken from the medicinal operation of substances 
on the properties and functions of the body, or from the parts of 
the animal system, which they more immediately influence, have 
been adopted by many late writers on the science. 

In their medicinal operation, some remedies are very general 
and extensive, others extremely limited ; so that some general 
denominations must include others less general within them. 
Various terms have been introduced into medicine as indicative 
both of general and of particular kinds of operation, either in 
health or disease ; and those medicines, which produce similar 
operations, have been placed in the same classes or orders. 
Without commenting on the superiority of any one arrangement 
over another, or attempting to remove the difficulties which are 
attached to them all, I shall merely offer my own acceptations of 
those terms, which are most commonly in use among practical 
writers on medicine. 

Stimulants. 
Agents which excite motion, or effects which appear to result 
from motion, in the living body. Some stimulants act only on 
the skin or mucous membrane, to which they are applied ; others 
influence the circulating system ; others more particularly the 
organs of secretion and excretion ; while some affect many of 
these parts of the body at once. It is not necessary for the pro- 
duction of their effect, that they should be conveyed to the part 
to be stimulated ; and although some of them are perhaps absorb- 



TERMS OF CLASSIFICATION. 19 

ed, there are many which act by sympathy. The term is some- 
times applied to agents which produce sensation, as well as to 
those which cause motion ; but medicinal stimulants are chiefly, 
perhaps wholly, found in the latter class. Ammonia, Wine, 
Preparations of mercury* 

Sedatives. 
Medicines which diminish irritability and sensibility, or lessen 
the power of the body to be acted upon by agents, calculated to 
produce motion or sensation. Some sedatives appear to be im- 
mediate and general in their effect ; others have a previous stimu- 
lating operation ; others are partial in the extent of their influ- 
ence. Prussic acid, Opium, Alcohol, Lead. 

Narcotics. 
Substances are so called, which act upon the brain and nervous 
system, producing the phenomena of intoxication. In their pe- 
culiar effects on particular parts of the system, the individual 
narcotics differ very considerably from each other. Opium, Al- 
cohol, Digitalis, Dulcamara, 

Antispasmodics. 
This name has been given to medicines, which subdue or alle- 
viate spasm, independently of the removal of its cause. The 
most powerful of these are found among the narcotics ; but there 
are others, which have a certain efficacy, without disordering the 
cerebral functions. Ammonia, Valerian, Assafoetida. 

Refrigerants. 
Medicines which diminish morbid heat of the body. Their 
effect is usually accompanied with some watery evacuation. Ve- 
getable acids, Neutral salts, Water. 



20 TERMS OF CLASSIFICATION. 



Alteratives. 
This name is applied to substances, which are "found to pro- 
duce a change in the system favorable to recovery from disease, 
but not with certainty referable to the action of any other class ; 
as in cutaneous diseases, intermittents, syphilis. Their effect 
often appears in an altered action of the extreme vessels. Arse- 
nic, Sulphur, Mercury. 

Astringents. 
These condense or constringe the animal fibre, and are applied 
to repress inordinate discharges, both by actual contact, and 
through the medium of sympathy. Oak, Mum, Acetate of lead. 

Tonics. 
Medicines so called increase permanently the tone and vigour 
of the body when debilitated, or tend to restore the strength to 
its natural standard, when depressed below it. They act prima- 
rily upon the stomach, increasing appetite and the power of di- 
gestion. They also invigorate other parts of the body, probably 
by sympathy, or by improving nutrition. Tonics are of no use 
to the healthy, and become inert or injurious when long continu- 
ed. Gentian, Cinchona, Preparations of iron. 

Emetics. 
Substances which produce vomiting. They probably act 
through the agency of the brain and nervous system, since mo- 
tions of the body and slight nervous irritations produce speedy 
vomiting, and some emetics, when injected into the circulation, 
operate more quickly than when received into the stomach. 
The diaphragm and abdominal muscles are principal agents in 



TERMS OF CLASSIFICATION. 21 

the act of vomiting. How far the stomach itself is actively en- 
gaged in this process, is a. point not settled among experimenters. 
The oesophagus, and probably also the duodenum, take on an in- 
verted motion. When emetics do not operate, they may produce 
nausea and diaphoresis, or purging. Ipecacuanha, Tartarized 
antimony, Sulphate of zinc. 



Cathartics. 
Medicines of this kind promote the alvine discharges, either 
by quickening the natural peristaltic motion, or by increasing the 
secretion of fluids from the inner coat of the intestines and from 
the 4 neighboring organs. Particular cathartics differ from each 
oftfet in the time requisite for their effect, the power with which 
they operate, and sometimes in the kind of discharge they 
occasion. The milder kinds, or laxatives, are suited to free the 
bowels from offensive contents ; the more powerful or drastic 
ones are employed as depletive remedies in disease. Castor oil, 
Senna, Jalap, 



Diuretics. 
Medicines which increase the quantity of urine independently 
of the volume of liquid taken into the body. Those which act 
upon persons in health, apparently do so by stimulating the kid- 
nies to a greater excretion, either by entering the circulation, or 
by the sympathy of those organs with the alimentary canal. 
Some substances are diuretic in dropsy, which are not so under 
other circumstances. These appear to act either by controlling 
the disease, and allowing the natural restorative processes to take 
place ; or by exciting the absorbents to greater action. The dis> 
4 



22 TERMS OF CLASSIFICATION. 

charge from the kidnies is commonly in an inverse ratio with that 
of the bowels and skin. Squill, Supertartrate of potass, Digi- 
talis. 

Diaphoretics. 
This name is given to medicines which promote perspiration, 
They are also called Sudorijics. Some of them have apparently 
a specific action on the cutaneous vessels ; others are merely 
general stimulants, which may be determined to the skin, or else- 
where, by the influence of external circumstances. Exercise or 
warmth will cause a medicine to operate on the skin, which, under 
opposite circumstances, would act upon the kidnies. Diaphore- 
tics produce some depletion, but are principally useful by the 
determination which they cause to the surface of the body, and 
by the restoration of a suppressed excretion. Jlcetate of ammo- 
nia, Powder of ipecac, and opium, Mcohol. 

Emmenagogues. , 

Substances supposed to promote the catamenial discharge. 
This is an irregular and uncertain class, owing to the diversity of 
cases which require their aid. In retention of the menses, tonics 
are principally of use. In suppression, depletive remedies or 
particular stimulants may be required, according to the circum- 
stances of the case. Medicines, which act powerfully upon the 
neighboring organs, commonly stimulate the uterus. There are 
also some which appear to act specifically on that organ. Moes, 
Black hellebore, Savin. 

Expectorants. 
Medicines thus denominated are supposed to promote the se- 
cretion from the mucous membrane of the lungs. In various 
pulmonary diseases, the subsidence of inflammation is attended 



TERMS OF CLASSIFICATION. 23 

with an increase of expectoration, which had been previously 
deficient. Certain remedies are supposed to aid this natural 
process. Those are most effectual, which apparently act by 
abating pulmonary inflammation. Submuriate of mercury, Tar- 
tarized antimony. But there are others, of a more stimulating 
nature, which are found to facilitate expectoration in inflammations 
of the mucous membrane, and in the secondary stages of inflam- 
mation of the substance of the lungs. Squill, Senega. 

SlALAGOGUES. 

Substances which increase the discharge of saliva. The 
chewing of dry substances will produce this effect. Acrid stimu- 
lants, topically applied, are still more effectual. Cayenne pepper, 
Mezereon. Mercury produces a disease of the mouth and its 
glands, which terminates by salivation. 

Errhines. 
Topical stimulants which excite the mucous discharge of the 
nares. When employed to produce sneezing, they are called 
Sternutatories, Tobacco, Subsulphate of mercury. 

Epispastics. 
Topical stimulants which inflame the skin and cause an effu- 
sion of serous fluid under the cuticle. When they merely pro- 
duce redness and inflammation, without serous effusion, they are 
called Rubefacients. Cantharides, Ammonia, Mustard. 

Caustics or Escharotics. 
Substances which destroy the vitality of a part to which they 
are applied, uniting chemically with it. Potass, Nitrate of sil- 
ver, Arsenic. 



24 TERMS OF CLASSIFICATION. 



Antacids. 
Improperly called Absorbents. Earthy or alkaline substances 
which neutralize acids in the stomach. Lime, Magnesia, Soda. 

Antilithics. 
Medicines supposed to counteract a calculous diathesis, and 
prevent or moderate the deposition of stony concretions in the 
bladder or kidnies. Some have received the name of Lithontrip- 
tics, from a power attributed to them of dissolving or wearing 
away these concretions ; but the existence of such a class is prob- 
lematical. Antilithics are chemical remedies, those of the alka- 
line sort being applied to cases of lithic or uric calculus, and 
those of the acid kind being given for the fusible and mulberry 
calculus. Magnesia, rotass, Muriatic acid, 

ANTIHELMINTHICS. 

Medicines which expel worms from the alimentary canal. 
Those which operate as cathartics are most effectual, though 
some are supposed to possess a peculiar property, which is nox- 
ious to the worms themselves. Lumbrici are easily extirpated by 
them, tsenise with more difficulty, ascarides very rarely. Submu- 
riate of mercury, Oil of turpentine, Spigelia. 

Demulcents. 
Mild and viscid substances, supposed to protect irritable surfaces 
from the action of morbid stimuli. They sometimes operate by 
immediate contact, but more frequently through the medium of 
the circulation, or by sympathy. The dilution with which they 
are accompanied, no doubt, enhances their effect. Gums, Muci* 
lages, Fixed oils. 



TERMS OF CLASSIFICATION. 25 



Emollients. 
Warm and moist applications which have been supposed to 
soften the parts to which they are applied. It is doubtful 
whether they have any efficacy, except from the heat they com- 
municate, unless on the cuticle merely. Fomentations, Poul- 
tices, Steam, 



WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 



In the operations of chemistry, it is customary to define the 
quantity of substances, both solid, liquid and gaseous, by the 
standard of weight. As this standard affords the most accurate 
mode of adjusting proportions, and is the only one which can be 
readily applied to bodies in all their forms, the Colleges of Edin- 
burgh and Dublin have made it their only mode of designating 
the quantity of articles employed in pharmacy. 

This method is in theory undoubtedly the best. It is not, 
however, found to be the most suitable for practice. The incon- 
venience of weighing liquids is such, that apothecaries, in pre- 
paring their compositions in the large way, generally fix upon 
certain measures as the representatives of particular weights of 
fluids, and employ them as substitutes. Physicians also, in pres- 
cribing liquids to their patients, are obliged to indicate the doses 
by some convenient measure, since families are not often provid- 
ed with the means of weighing liquids. From motives, probably, 
of this sort, the London College has devised a system of fluid 
measures, which they have in most instances applied to indicate 
the quantity of liquids. In this system the pint of wine measure 
is divided into sixteen fluidounces, or its fractions are analogous 
to those of the pound in the avoirdupois scale of weights. For 
solids the standard of Troy weight is used. 



WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. - Ti 

The compilers of the American Pharmacopoeia have adopted 
their system of weights and measures, without alteration, from the 
London College. Where weights have been converted into 
measures, as in formulae taken from the Edinburgh and other 
Pharmacopoeias, they have commonly substituted pints for pounds, 
and fluidounces for ounces. In most preparations made with 
water and alcohol, this approximation is near enough for practical 
purposes, and is better than to have encumbered the Pharmaco- 
poeia with a precise indication of minute fractional parts. In the 
tinctures, decoctions, infusions, &c. the quantity of * liquids is 
generally indicated by the term pints. Now a pint of water 
weighs 7272 grains, and exceeds a pound of the same fluid by 
about one-fifth. A pint of alcohol, on the contrary, very nearly 
coincides with a pound, or the difference is only about one-twen- 
tieth part, which is of no consequence in practice. It follows 
from the substitution made, that a part of the American tinctures, 
decoctions, &c. are in a small degree weaker by calculation, than 
those of Edinburgh and Dublin, which they are intended to resem- 
ble. But when we recollect, that a given amount of organized 
vegetable substance gives out more of its weight to a large men- 
struum than to a small one, this difference of strength is less in 
reality, than it appears to be by computation. And in all cases 
where the menstruum is supersaturated with materials, there will 
be no difference whatever.* To this it may be added, that as 
the general custom of apothecaries in our large cities is to use 
measures instead of weights, most of our compound liquids will 
continue of the same strength, which those of the same origin and 
name have hitherto had. 

In compounds containing fluids of very different specific gravi- 
ties — as for instance the mineral acids and alcohol or water — the 

* See some remarks on this head under Tinctura opii. 



28 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 

substitution of measures for weights, in the manner which has 
been described, obviously occasions a great change from their 
former strength. An approximating correction for the difference 
of specific gravity is therefore necessary. Such an one is made 
in the Tincture of sulphuric acid, but appears to have been 
overlooked in the Diluted sulphuric acid. This latter prepara- 
tion, together with a few others in which a similar amendment 
appeared necessary, have been corrected in a list of Corrigenda 
published since the Pharmacopoeia. 

A difficulty occurs in the measurement of small fluid quanti- 
ties, occasioned by the concave and convex surface which liquids 
form under different circumstances, and the deceptive refraction 
of many of the graduated glass measures. To remedy this evil, 
glass measures, designed for small quantities, have during several 
years past been made for sale at the Boston glass manufactory, 
and are kept by a large portion of the apothecaries and families 
in this city. They are of a narrow cylindrical form, having the 
top ground off to the requisite capacity. The small surface they 
present renders their use easy and not deceptive. By families 
the measure of a fluidrachm is substituted for that of a tea- 
spoon, and that of half a fluidounce for a table-spoon. 

For measuring minute quantities of liquids, the minim, or six- 
tieth part of a fluidrachm, is employed in the Pharmacopoeia, 
instead of the very indefinite term drop. Practitioners may be 
obliged to make extemporaneous use of drops as the nearest rep- 
resentatives of minims ; but apothecaries should be provided with 
minim glasses, like those adopted by the London College, and ap- 
ply them wherever it is practicable. 



DOSES OF MEDICINES. 



X he doses indicated under the respective articles of this work 
are the appropriate doses for adults, under ordinary circumstan- 
ces. Occasional exceptions, however, will be found to result 
from sex and idiosyncracy, in regard to particular medicines ; 
also from the circumstances of the case, in which they are 
prescribed. For children the dose must be reduced in propor- 
tion to their age. Dr. Young has laid down as a rule that, for 
children under 12 years of age, the doses of most medicines must 
be diminished in proportion of the age to the age increased by 12. 
Thus the dose for a child at 3 years will be as 3 to 15, or \ part 
of a full dose. The rule will give the following doses for dif- 
ferent ages : 

At 1 year the dose will be T ^ 



3 

2 4 

3 £ 

4 i 

6 i 

12 i 



This rule will apply to many of the more powerful medicines, 
particularly such as are not of the evacuating kind. But of pur- 
gatives, and even of emetics, infants generally require larger 
5 



30 DOSES OF MEDICINES. 

doses than the rule allows* Thus an infant under a year old 
frequently requires from i to | of the dose of an adult, before an 
effectual operation can be produced. This happens with the com- 
mon medicines, Castor oil, Rhubarb, Calomel, Ipecacuanha, &c. 
Of Castor oil, indeed, an eighth part of an adult dose is required 
by infants under a month old, and is frequently given soon 
after birth. 



MATERIA MEDICA< 



ACACIiE GUMMI. 

Acacia Gum, called Gum Arabic. 

Origin. Gum Arabic is imported into this country from the 
north of Africa and from the East Indies. The African sort is 
obtained from a small tree, the Acacia vera of Willdenow, or 
Mimosa nilotica of Linneeus, growing in the mountainous parts 
of the interior. The East India gum is afforded by another 
tree, the Acacia Arabica, and is somewhat darker coloured 
and less soluble than the former. The gum exudes from the 
bark of these trees, and concretes in the form of tears on the 
outside It appears to be the product of disease, as the greatest 
quantity is procured from the most sickly trees, and in the 
hottest seasons. 

Qualities. This gum is usually in roundish, irregular pieces, 
hard, brittle, yellowish, semitransparent and insipid. It does 
not melt by heat. With water it forms a viscid solution or 
mucilage, and it is also soluble in acids and alkaline liquids. It 
is insoluble in alcohol, ether and oils ; yet by trituration it ren- 
ders oils miscible with water. 

Uses. In a medicinal view, this article is merely a demul- 
cent, and is employed in solution to protect irritable surfaces 
from the action of acrid stimuli, or to render excreted fluids 
more bland and inoffensive. It allays the irritation of the throat 
in catarrhal complaints, and sheathes the intestines in diarrhcea 
and dysentery. It is highly useful in strangury, and operates 



32 ACETUM. 

as a palliative in nephritic and calculous cases. Gum is nutri- 
tious, and we are told by Hasselquist and others, that caravans 
in Africa have subsisted for some time on no other food. Ma- 
gendie found that dogs fed upon it, became emaciated and died ; 
but the experiment of a carnivorous animal is not a test for 
the human species. 

Mucilage of gam Arabic, being very prone to the acetous 
fermentation, especially in hot weather, should always be an 
extemporaneous preparation. It may be readily formed of any 
consistence, by rubbing the powdered gum with water, gradually 
added, in a glass or earthen mortar. 



ACETUM. 

Vinegar. 

Origin. Vinegar, in the United States, is principally made 
from cyder, by exposing that liquor in a warm place until the 
acetous fermentation is completed. In Europe, wines and malt 
liquors are employed. Solutions in water, of sugar or of gum, 
are also capable of producing vinegar by fermentation, as is 
likewise the sap of certain trees. The acetous fermentation 
may be produced in any of these liquids, by adding to them a 
little yeast, and exposing them in vessels, to which the air has 
access, in a temperature between 70° and 90°. The liquor 
gradually grows turbid, a disengagement of carbonic acid takes 
place, a sediment is at length deposited, and the liquid, on be- 
coming clear, is found to have lost its saccharine and vinous or 
intoxicating qualities, and to have acquired a sharp, acid taste. 

Qualities. Good vinegar is transparent, of a yellowish or 
reddish colour, and an agreeable odour and taste. It consists of 
acetic acid largely diluted with water, and holding gluten and 
other vegetable substances in solution. The presence of these 
cause it to become turbid or mouldy, when exposed to the air, 
and eventually to putrefy. It is concentrated by freezing, and 



ACETLfM DISTILLATUM. 33 

purified by distillation, or by powdered charcoal. Vinegar is 
sometimes adulterated with sulphuric acid, which may be detect- 
ed by saturating it with chalk, and adding distilled water to the 
solution. An insoluble sulphate of lime will be formed, if 
sulphuric acid be present. The vinegar procured by the dis- 
tillation of wood, and which has been called pyro-ligneous acid, 
has an empyreumatic taste, of which it is difficult wholly to 
divest it. 

Uses. Vinegar is more used as a condiment and a preserva- 
tive of animal and vegetable substances, than as a medicine. It 
has, however, like other vegetable acids, the properties of a 
refrigerant, antiseptic and diuretic. It acts as an antidote to 
the effects of opium and other narcotics, after those sub- 
stances have been discharged from the stomach ; but it may 
prove injurious, if given before, by increasing their solubility and 
absorption. Combined with salt, it forms a popular gargle in 
sore throats, and its vapour is sometimes inhaled in the same 
complaints. Externally, it is employed to quicken the action of 
sinapisms, and to prepare the skin for the application of blisters. 
Diluted with water, it is used to cleanse the skin in febrile 
diseases, by sponging or wiping, and has often a salutary and 
grateful effect. The vapour of vinegar is highly useful in puri- 
fying the atmosphere of sick rooms and tainted apartments. 



ACETUM DISTILLATUM. 

Distilled Vinegar. 

Distilled vinegar is weaker than common vinegar, but more 
pure. Its specific gravity is somewhat greater than that of 
water, but varies according to the quality of the vinegar employ- 
ed. For most medicinal and pharmaceutical purposes, it is 
inferior to the following article. 



34 ACETUM PURIFICATUM.— ACETUM OPII. 



ACETUM PURIFICATUM. 

Purified Vinegar. 

Charcoal has the property of abstracting from vinegar a great 
portion of its gluten and colouring matter, thus rendering it 
less liable to decomposition, without impairing its strength. 
Vinegar purified in this manner is peculiarly proper for the 
purposes of pharmacy. 



ACETUM OPII. 

Vinegar of Opium, commonly called Black Drop. 

The formula for this preparation, in the Pharmacopoeia, is 
essentially the same with the one made public by Dr. Armstrong, 
and which, under the name of Black Drop, has been known and 
prized in England for a century and upwards, As the recipe 
wants the usual precision of pharmaceutical formulae, it mav be 
proper to secure a tolerable uniformity of strength, by boiling 
the first ingredients no longer than is necessary to blend them 
together, and by afterward exposing them in a warm place, 
until about one-fourth of their original volume is evaporated. 
The compound directed in the Pharmacopoeia should afford 
about two pints of strained liquor. As the filtration of so viscid 
a liquor is difficult, it may be strained without pressure through 
a double linen bag. 

Qualities. The black drop is a fermented aromatic vinegar 
of opium. Its taste, when properly prepared, is bitter and acid, 
the saccharine principle being changed by the fermentation. 
Its consistence is moderately viscid. 

Uses. Acetous solutions of opium have been in use since 
the days of Van Helmont, and even earlier. Our medical 



ACETUM SCILLiE. 35 

chemists of the present day consider that the peculiarities, 
which attend the operation of these preparations, depend upon 
the formation of an acetate of morphia. The black drop has 
sustained its popularity for a great length of time on account of 
its favorable operation. According to Dr. Armstrong, it often 
stays in the stomach when other preparations will not, and it 
also affects the head less than laudanum. Dr. Paris and other 
medical writers give their testimony to its usefulness. 

Exhibition. About ten or twelve minims form a dose. 
Notwithstanding the advantages ascribed to this preparation, it 
is not always uniform in its strength, or in the amount of sedi- 
ment it deposits. It is probable that a better vinegar of opium 
might be prepared. 



ACETUM SCILL^. 

Vinegar of Squill. 

Vinegar is one of the most effectual solvents for the active 
matter of the squill. The proportions of the Edinburgh formula, 
which has been most used in this country, and of the American 
now adopted, are the same, except that, by the conversion of 
weights into measures, the American article contains a little 
more vinegar, and less alcohol.* For reasons stated under the 
head of Weights and Measures, the strength is not greatly 
different. 

Exhibition. The dose for an adult, as an expectorant or 
diuretic, is from a half to two fluidrachms. Children are often 
vomited with half a fluidrachm. The chief use, however, of 
this preparation is to form the syrup of squills, an article which 
keeps better, and is more palatable. 

* The Edinburgh College appear to have changed their denomina- 
tions, but without changing the strength of this article, as has been 
asserted ; one half of all the previous quantities being taken. 



36 



ACIDUM ARSENIOSUM. 



ACIDUM ARSENIOSUM. 

Jlrsenious Jicid, called White Arsenic. 

Origin. The red cobalt ore, found in Bohemia and Saxony, 
furnishes a great part of the white arsenic of commerce. The 
arsenic is separated by roasting the ore till it sublimes. Some- 
times, also, it is obtained from arsenical pyrites by sublimation. 

Qualities. It comes to us, usually, in lumps of a shining 
semivitreous appearance, breaking with a conchoidal fracture, 
and, when reduced to powder, having an opacity and whiteness 
like fine powdered sugar. It has the properties of an acid in 
combining with the alkalies to saturation, and in reddening 
infusions of litmus. Its taste is acrid and corrosive, leaving 
on the tongue an impression of sweetness. By the experi- 
ments of Proust and Davy, it appears to consist of 75 
parts of metallic arsenic and 25 of oxygen. By distilla- 
tion with nitric acid, it may be further acidified, produ- 
cing the arsenic acid, which contains 67 parts of metal 
and S3 of oxygen. Its specific gravity is 5, and it rises 
in vapour at 383° of Farenheit. It is, in this state, without 
odour, and although it is usually supposed to emit an alliaceous 
smell, yet Dr. Paris asserts, that this smell is wholly confined to 
metallic arsenic, and cannot be produced by the arsenious acid, 
except it be partially decomposed. White arsenic is soluble in 
four hundred parts of water, at the temperature of 60°, and in 
only thirteen, at 212°. The latter solution, on cooling, retains 
three parts in one hundred, and deposits the rest in tetrahedral 
crystals. Alcohol and oils are also capable of dissolving it. 

Tests. In cases of supposed poisoning by arsenic, it is ex- 
tremely important to be able to detect it, if present even in 
minute quantities. For this purpose, the contents of the stomach 
should be diluted with water, and after time has elapsed suffi- 
cient for the arsenic to subside, the fluid should be poured off 
and the sediment preserved. The fluid should also be preserved 



ACIDUM ARSENIOSUM. 37 

to increase the opportunities of detection ; likewise the coats of 
the stomach should be washed, and the water saved for exami- 
nation. — I. If the sediment contains a white powder, or any 
thing of suspicious appearance, it should be mixed with three 
times its weight of black flux made of charcoal one part, and 
dry subcarbonate of potass two parts, and put into a thin 
glass tube, closed at one end, about half a foot long and one 
quarter of an inch in diameter. The mouth of the tube must be 
stopped with paper or clay, and the lower end, containing the 
powder, should then be held in the flame of a lamp. If arsenic 
be present, it will be found sublimed, and lining the upper part 
of the tube in the form of brilliant metallic scales. These, 
if removed and laid upon hot iron, will exhale fumes character- 
ized by a strong smell of garlic. — II. Let a small portion of the 
powder be dissolved in two drachms of hot distilled water, with 
three grains of subcarbonate of ammonia ; then add to this a 
warm solution of five*grains of sulphate of copper. If arsenic 
be present, a bright grass-green precipitate will take place. — - 
III. Introduce two or three grains of the suspected powder into 
a clean Florence flask, and add to it eight ounces of distilled 
water. Heat the solution till it begins to boil ; then add to it a 
grain or two of subcarbonate of potass, frequently agitating the 
mixture. Pour into a glass about an ounce of the solution, and 
touch the surface of it with a stick of nitrate of silver. If ar- 
senic be present, a beautiful yellow precipitate will instantly 
proceed from the point of contact, and settle towards the bottom. 
This method, first proposed by Mr. Hume of London, has been 
thus modified by Dr. Paris : On a piece of white paper make a 
broad mark with the suspected fluid prepared as above. Along 
this line a stick of lunar caustic is to be slowly drawn several 
times successively, when, if there is any arsenic, a colour will 
be produced resembling that known by the name of Indian yel- 
low ; it will remain permanent for sometime, and finally be- 
come brown. These changes distinguish arsenic from the 
alkaline phosphates, which, when similarly treated, produce a 
yellow, which turns into a sad green, and ultimately becomes 
quite black. 

6 



38 ACIDUM ARSENIOSUM. 

Effects on the human system. When arsenic, in any 
considerable quantity, is taken into the body, it speedily mani- 
fests its prsesnce by a train of distressing symptoms. These 
are, dryness of the throat, intense thirst, a burning sensation in 
the stomach, gripings, vomiting, tremors and convulsions, delirium, 
palsy, cold sweats, hiccoughing, and at last death. It speedily 
corrodes the coats of the stomach and intestines, and leaves the 
whole body in a swollen and highly putrescent state. When the 
quantity taken is not sufficient to destroy life, it leaves the 
patient with a train of lingering symptoms, such as hectic, 
tremors and paralysis. 

Antidotes. Nothing can rescue a patient, when much arsenic 
has been swallowed, but the speedy evacuation of the poison. 
The stimulating property of the arsenic itself occasions vomit- 
ing ; but this should be hastened by full doses of the sulphate of 
zinc, and by irritating the fauces. At the same time the patient 
should swallow freely the whites of eggs', or milk, which, by 
coagulating round the particles of arsenic, may protect the 
stomach from their action till they are evacuated. Lime water 
should likewise be given, which may cover the particles with an 
insoluble arsenite of lime, and suspend their activity. A solu- 
tion of common soap may be given, if nothing else is at hand. 
The sulphuret of potass, recommended by M. Navier, does not 
possess the same confidence now as formerly. 

Medical uses. Arsenic is employed in medicine, both ex- 
ternally and internally. It came into notice more particularly 
about a century ago, when a rage was prevalent for finding ac- 
tive medicines among poisonous substances. Since that period, 
it has constituted a powerful agent in the hands of empirics, and 
has formed the basis of a number of secret applications, especially 
in the disease of cancer. In this disease it acts by its escharo- 
tic power, and does not effect a cure, except by total extirpation 
of the diseased part ; a process far more tedious and painful 
than excision by the knife. It is even dangerous, when exten- 
sively applied to a denuded surface. A part of its reputation is 
no doubt founded upon spurious cures, performed in cases, which 
have been pronounced cancerous, without being really so. 



LIQUOR POTASSjE ARSENITIS. 39 

Internally, arsenic is now employed, with great benefit, in sev- 
eral diseases. Its efficacy in intermittent fever has been abun- 
dantly tested, both in this country and Europe, especially in the 
French and British armies, at periods when bark in sufficient 
quantities was not to be obtained. From the reports made re- 
specting it, it has evidently great power in controlling this dis- 
ease, especially when given seasonably. In constitutions pre- 
viously impaired, also in intermittents combined with much de- 
bility, it is said to be inferior to cinchona. Probably a combina- 
tion of the two is more effectual than either singly. Such I have 
believed to be the case in periodical or intermittent head-ache, 
which arsenic alone cures with great certainty, but appears to 
remove more promptly when combined with bark. Obstinate 
cutaneous diseases of various kinds are more under the con- 
trol of arsenic than of any other medicine, if perhaps we ex- 
cept the oxymuriate of mercury. In tetanus, arsenic has been 
successfully administered in larger doses than would be account- 
ed safe in other diseases. 

Exhibition. It is unnecessary to give arsenic in any other 
form than that of the Liquor potasses arsenitis, which see. 



LIQUOR POTASS^ ARSENITIS, 

Arsenical Solution, 

This preparation is essentially the same with that known by 
the name of Fowler's mineral solution. Pure alcohol is sub^ 
stituted instead of compound tincture of lavender, which, from 
the variety of its ingredients, may produce chemical changes. 
In common cases, where arsenic is required, this solution may 
be given in doses of five minims, three times a day, and increased 
by one minim at each dose, till it occasions nausea or un- 
pleasant sensations in the stomach and head. In tetanus, it has 
been given in doses of ten drops every hour, and oftener, in a 
spoonful of brandy, with ten drops of laudanum, during a whole 



40 ACIDUM BENZOICUM.— ACIDUM CARBONICUM. 

night, and occasionally afterwards. Its effects were thirst, tu- 
mified abdomen, and profuse diarrhoea.* 

The internal use of arsenic should rarely be continued beyond 
ten or twelve days at a time, and it should be immediately sus- 
pended, if an cedematous swelling appears about the eyes, if a 
cough is produced, a sore mouth, or permanent pain in the 
stomach. It should not be given to persons disposed to 
phthisis. 



ACIDUM BENZOICUM. 

Benzoic Acid, 

This acid, formerly called Flowers of Benzoin, is inodorous, 
when perfectly pure, with a pungent, acrid, acidulous taste. It 
exists in minute, soft, acicular crystals and flakes of a white, 
silken appearance. When heated, it emits a suffocating odour, 
and burns with a white flame. It is soluble in twenty-four 
times its weight of boiling water, but nineteen-twentieths 
are deposited on cooling. Alcohol dissolves it more largely. 
It forms salts with alkalies, earths and metallic oxides. Ac- 
cording to Berzelius, it consists of 74.41 carbon, 5.16 hydrogen, 
and 20.43 oxygen. 

It is a stimulant article, not much used except as an ingre- 
dient in the old paregoric elixir, 



ACIDUM CARBONICUM. 

Carbonic Acid, 

This acid is obtained pure only in the state of gas. It is a 
compound of seventy-two parts of oxygen, with twenty-eight of 

* See a paper by Dr. Miller, in the New England Journal, vol. vii. p. 34. 



ACIDUM CITRICUM.— ACIDUM MURIATICUM. 41 

carbon. It does not support flame, and, when respired, is dele- 
terious to animal life. Water, at the common pressure of the 
atmosphere, takes up about its own volume of this gas ; but under 
increased pressure, it receives much more. The gas is liberated 
again by boiling or freezing the water. Carbonic acid combines 
with salifiable bases, from which it is dislodged again by most 
other acids, or simply by heat. 

Uses. It is employed in the formation of medicated waters, 
to which it communicates a refreshing, stimulant, diaphoretic 
and diuretic quality. 



ACIDUM CITRICUM. 

Citric Acid. 

Citric acid crystallizes in white, transparent, rhomboidal 
prisms, or in double, four-sided pyramids, joined at base. It is 
without smeli, but exceedingly acid, and almost caustic. It is 
soluble in less than its weight of cold water, and in half its 
weight of boiling water. Its medical properties resemble those 
of lemon juice, to which it is preferable in long voyages, and 
situations in which the juice is liable to spoil. One scruple 
renders pleasantly acid a pint of water. Citric acid affords a 
precise mode of forming effervescent draughts. Fifteen grains 
neutralize a scruple of subcarbonate of potass. 



ACIDUM MURIATICUM. 

Muriatic Acid. 

Origin. Muriatic acid, called by Sir H. Davy hydrochloric 
acid, is procured in the form of gas, by distillation from sea salt 
and sulphuric acid. According to Davy, it consists of chlorine 



42 ACIDUM MURIATICUM. 

or oxymuriatic gas, combined with an equal volume of hydrogen. 
The liquid acid is water combined with this gas. 

Qualities. The liquid acid is transparent, colourless, or 
slightly yellowish. When exposed to the air, it emits fumes of 
a pungent, suffocating odour. Its taste is intensely sour and 
caustic. It is, however, less powerful than the nitric and sul- 
phuric acids. 

Uses. Largely diluted with water, it is employed as a gargle 
in ulcerated sore throats, and less diluted as a topical stimulant 
to erosive ulcerations of the gums. Internally it has been ad- 
ministered as a tonic, antiseptic and refrigerant in typhoidal 
fevers. It is also said to be successful in some cutaneous dis- 
eases. In calculous complaints of a certain kind, it is particu- 
larly indicated. The medical and chemical treatment of these 
disorders, according to Dr. Marcet, must vary with the chemical 
constitution of the urine, and the nature of its deposits. When 
lithic acid predominates, alkalies are the appropriate remedies ; 
but when the phosphates of lime and magnesia constitute the 
basis of the deposits, acids are the proper medicines to be used. 
Of these, the mineral are preferable to the vegetable, as being 
less subject to decomposition in the stomach. If they do not 
enter the circulation sufficiently unchanged to affect the concre- 
tions, they serve nevertheless to counteract the alkalescence, 
and in some degree to prevent or change the character of the 
urine, which is most favorable to calculous depositions. Dr. 
Marcet prefers the muriatic acid to the rest. 

Exhibition. It is given in doses of from five to twenty-five 
minims, three times a day, sufficiently diluted with water. 

All the strong acids attack and corrode the teeth. They 
should therefore be drunk through a quill or tube, and the mouth 
rinsed immediately after. Whatever be the dose, it should be 
diluted with water to about the acidity of lemonade. An over- 
dose is recognized by a sense of pain and constriction in the 
stomach. 

Fumigations of the muriatic acid, and still more of the oxy- 
muriatic, or chlorine, are highly useful in neutralizing the im^ 
pure and infectious vapours of hospitals and tainted apartments, 



ACIDUM NITRICUM. 43 

The latter is extemporaneously produced by pouring sulphuric 
acid gradually on a mixture of common salt and black oxide of 
manganese, two parts of the former to one of the latter. As 
this vapour is corrosive and suffocating, it cannot be tolerated 
in large quantities, and must therefore be disengaged slowly and 
with caution, in rooms which are inhabited. 



ACIDUM NITRICUM. 

Nitric Acid. 

Origin. Nitric acid, called in commerce Aquafortis, is ob- 
tained from nitrate of potass and sulphuric acid, by repeated 
distillation. It consists of 74.03 of oxygen, and 25.97 of nitro- 
gen, combined with water to the amount of one-third of the 
whole ; and from which it has never yet been separated in a 
simple state. 

Qualities. When pure, it is transparent and colourless, 
emitting white fumes of a peculiar suffocating smell, when ex- 
posed to the air. Its taste is intensely acid and corrosive. It 
stains the skin of a permanent yellow, which cannot be oblite- 
rated till the cuticle separates. It is decomposed with violent 
action by the simple combustibles, some of which it inflames. It 
boils at 210°. 

Uses. Diluted with water, this acid at one time acquired 
considerable celebrity as a remedy in syphilis, in India ; but 
subsequent experience has not confirmed its antisyphilitic power. 
It is useful as an auxiliary to mercury, when the constitution is 
so much impaired as to suffer greatly under the debilitating ef- 
fect of a mercurial course ; since it possesses a certain degree of 
tonic power, and appears instrumental in suspending some of 
the graver symptoms of the disease. It has been administered 
with use in chronic hepatitis, and in some of the forms of drop- 
sy. Water, acidulated with nitric and muriatic acids, was em- 
ployed by Dr. Scott, in India, as a bath in these diseases, with 



44 ACIDUM SULPHURICUM. 

alleged advantage. In some old ulcerations of the legs, nitric 
acid has been thought serviceable, taken internally, and applied 
in its diluted state as a wash. 

Exhibition. The London College direct a diluted nitric acid, 
containing one iluidounce of acid to nine of distilled water. 
The dose of this is from twenty to forty minims in a glass of wa- 
ter. It may be gradually increased till it causes inconvenience. 
With mercury it may be given alternately but not simultaneously. 

Recently the nitric acid has been employed to quicken the 
process of vesication. The acid is diluted with about one-third 
of water, and brushed upon the skin with a feather. As soon 
as pain is complained of, the acid is neutralized with an alkaline 
solution, and the cuticle can sometimes be detached. The cutis 
may afterwards be irritated with a common vesicating plaster. 



ACIDUM SULPHURICUM. 

Sulphuric Jlcid. 

Origin. This acid, called Oil of vitriol in commerce, is 
formed in the large way, by the combustion of sulphur mixed 
with one-tenth of nitrate of potass, in a vessel situated in a close 
chamber lined with sheet lead, the floor being covered with 
water, which, by absorbing the sulphurous acid gas, after the 
process has been kept up for two or three weeks, becomes con- 
verted into liquid sulphuric acid. No process has been found 
adequate to procure this acid free from water. The liquid acid, 
in its strongest state, contains, according to Sir H. Davy, thirty 
parts of sulphur to forty-five of oxygen and seventeen of water. 

Qualities. It is a thick, heavy liquid, transparent and col- 
ourless, with a consistence resembling that of oil, whence its 
former name. A small portion of vegetable or carbonaceous 
matter, even the dust of an apartment, changes it to a dark 
colour, on which account it can only he kept clear in glass- 
stopped bottles. It has a strong affinity for water, evolving 



ACIDUM SULPHURICUM DILUTUM. 45 

| much heat when mixed with it, and absorbing it in large quan- 
tities from the atmosphere. Like the other mineral acids, its 
taste is intensely sour and caustic. It corrodes the cuticle, but 
less rapidly than the nitric acid. It freezes at 15°, and boils 
at 560°. 

Uses. As a medicine it is astringent* tonic and refrigerant, 
and proves serviceable by allaying thirst, exciting appetite, and 
promoting digestion. It checks a tendency to fermentation in 
weak stomachs, and hence, though itself an acid, it counteracts 
morbid acidity in the stomach. It is valuable as an astringent 
in hemorrhages and debilitating discharges of different kinds. 
In hemoptysis, it often answers an important purpose as a 
secondary remedy after the more active means of depletion 
and vesication, or where the strength is too far exhausted to 
admit the use of the lancet. It possesses similar advantages as 
a medicine in menorrhagia, whether an immoderate flow, or too 
frequent return of the catamenia. Its superiority over other 
astringents seems to consist in its power of controlling inordi- 
nate discharges, without, at the same time, increasing the fever 
and arterial excitement, with which they are very frequently 
accompanied. An instance of this is found in the profuse night 
sweats, which attend on hectic fever. In this troublesome and 
debilitating symptom, I know of no medicine which can with 
propriety be substituted for the sulphuric acid, to restrain and 
suspend the discharge. Its operation is often immediate, even 
when the symptom in question has been of long continuance. 
Exhibition. The common forms of exhibition are those of 
the diluted sulphuric acid, and the tincture ; which see. 



ACIDUM SULPHURICUM DILUTUM. 

Diluted Sulphuric Jlcid. 

As a proper dose of pure sulphuric acid is too small to be 
conveniently measured, it is kept for internal use largely diluted 

7 



46 ACIDUM PRUSSICUM. 

with water. As the American Pharmacopceia has adopted the 
London formula for citric acid, in which this article occurs ; it 
became necessary to adopt also the London diluted sulphuric 
acid, or one of similar strength. This is accomplished nearly 
enough, by substituting in the American formula ten fluidounces 
of water, as directed in the list of Corrigenda, instead of seven. 
The dose of this diluted acid is from ten to forty minims, with 
water sufficient to be pleasantly acid. 



ACIDUM PRUSSICUM. 

Prussic Jlcid. 

Prussic acid derives its name from the common material 
which affords it, the Prussian J^lue of commerce. By Gay 
Lussac it is denominated hydrocyanic acid, and its gaseous 
base, cyanogen. It is obtained by various processes in different 
states of concentration and purity. Being a substance of un- 
paralleled energy in its action on the human system, it is not 
necessary for medical purposes, nor safe, that it should be form- 
ed of its greatest strength ; although it is highly desirable that 
it should be uniform and permanent. A variety of methods for 
obtaining this acid have been proposed by different chemists, 
and maybe found in the journals and modern works on chemis- 
try. The process of Gay Lussac produces the acid in its 
greatest strength and purity, while those of Scheele and Vau- 
quelin are preferred for medical use. The formula in the 
American Pharmacopceia is, with slight deviations, that of 
Scheele. In executing the directions, it is necessary that the 
receiver should be well covered with ice or iced water, to con- 
dense the acid and prevent its escape with the gases which are 
formed during the operation. Not only a portion of superfluous 
hydrogen occurs in the process, but, according to Vauquelin, 
carbonic acid and ammonia are evolved, when gaseous cyanogen 
combines with water. The prussic acid of our Pharmacopoeia 



ACIDUM PRUSSICUM. 47 

contains a minute portion of sulphurous acid, from which, if 
desired, it may be freed by distillation with a little carbonate 
of lime ; but it has been thought to keep better when not thus 
rectified. 

Prussic acid is composed of hydrogen and a peculiar gaseous 
body, formed by the combination of nitrogen and carbon, to 
which Gay Lussac has given the name of cyanogen, and Dr. 
Ure, of prussine. The prussic resembles other acids in its 
combination with bases, and its action on vegetable blues ; but 
differs from the acids of Lavoisier in not containing oxygen. 
It may be obtained from the mineral, vegetable or animal king- 
doms. 

According to Dr. Granville, the only mineral, which has been 
found to contain it, is the fer azure of Haiiy, having a fine 
blue colour. 

It has been known for some time, that certain vegetables, 
principally of the family of rosacees, as the cherry laurel, peach, 
almond, apple, &c. afford prussic acid in minute quantity from 
their leaves, bark or seeds. It has also been known, that the 
distilled water of some of these, particularly the bitter almond 
and cherry laurel, is deleterious in its action on the animal 
economy. This coincidence of character, together with the 
similarity of smell, has led to the inference, that prussic acid is 
the seat and cause of the noxious property which these vegeta- 
bles possess. We are authorized, however, to conclude, from 
some late experiments detailed in the Dictionnaire des Sciences 
medicales, that the poisonous property of these vegetables re- 
sides in another substance, and that the prussic acid is not con- 
cerned in producing it. According to M. De Lens, this dele- 
terious principle is confined wholly to a volatile oil, which, al- 
though violently poisonous, does not contain a particle of prussic 
acid. The distilled waters, on the other hand, after being sepa- 
rated from the oil by filtration, although still charged with prussic 
acid, appear nearly inert, so that laurel water, thus separated, 
was given by Mr. Fouquier, in the dose of a pint, without injury. 

In most animal substances, the elements of prussic acid 
exist, jet it requires the intervening agency of alkalies, and of 



48 ACIDUM PRUSS1CUM. 

heat, to bring these elements into the requisite combination. 
There are, nevertheless, facts which seem to prove that this acid 
is sometimes spontaneously generated in the animal fluids and 
excretions, through the agency of disease or accident. 

Qualities. Prussic acid, in its greatest purity, is liquid and 
colourless, with a pungent, suffocating odour resembling, when 
much diluted, the smell of bitter almonds or of peach flowers. 
Its vapour, when incautiously inhaled, occasions nausea, head- 
ache and faintness. Its taste is at first cool, then acrid and 
bitter. It is very inflammable, and combines readily with water 
and alcohol. Its specific gravity at 44i° is '7058 ; and when 
concrete, *600. It boils at 81 i°, and congeals at about 3°. It 
then crystallizes in a fibrous form, like nitrate of ammonia. The 
cold, which a part of it produces when converted into vapour, even 
at the temperature of 68°, is sufficient to congeal the remainder. 
Though repeatedly rectified from pounded marble, it retains 
the power of slightly reddening papers, coloured blue with lit- 
mus. It has a great tendency to assume the gaseous form, and 
is decomposed by a high temperature, and even by the action of 
light, so that it is necessary to keep it in a dark place. The 
acid of Gay Lussac, even when kept in close vessels without air, 
is sometimes decomposed in an hour, and can never be kept 
many days without shewing signs of decomposition. It com- 
mences by assuming a reddish brown colour, which continues to 
deepen ; and gradually deposits a considerable quantity of 
carbonaceous matter. The acid of Scheele is much weaker 
than that of Gay Lussac, and has been preserved for a great 
length of time without change ; though still liable, under certain 
circumstances, to spontaneous decomposition. 

The name of medicinal prussic acid has been given to the 
acid, when so largely diluted with water as to render its internal 
exhibition apparently safe. Such are the preparations of 
Scheele, Vauquelin, Brande and Nimmo, Magendie employed 
the strong acid of Gay Lussac, diluted with six times its volume, 
or eight and a half times its weight of distilled water. It 
is worthy of remark, that most of these preparations have been 



ACIDUM PRUSSICUM. 49 

objected to in succession, as wanting permanency and uniformity 
of strength. 

Medicinal properties and uses. Prussic acid, employed in 
a concentrated form, like that of Gay Lussac, is the most power- 
ful and speedy of all known poisons. When a rod dipped in it 
is brought in contact with the tongue of an animal, it expires be- 
fore the rod can be withdrawn. A bird, held for a moment over 
the mouth of a phial containing this acid, is found dead. Seve- 
ral instances have occurred, in which persons, either by accident 
or to commit suicide, have swallowed quantities of it, and imme- 
diate death has ensued. On dissection, the blood has been 
found liquid and of a dark blueish colour, the stomach and intes- 
tines inflamed, and a strong odour of the acid has pervaded 
every part of the body. 

When prepared in its weaker forms, this acid has been brought 
into medical practice, and applied to the treatment of diseases. 
Among its strongest advocates have been Drs. Granville in 
England, and Magendie in France. According to the former of 
these, the medicinal effects of the prussic acid, given in moderate 
doses, are eminently of a sedative kind ; and when given to a 
patient under a disease of vascular or other excitement, it di- 
minishes irritability, checks a too rapid circulation, and calms 
many of the symptoms of fever. The spirits become subdued, 
the countenance placid, sleep undisturbed, respiration easy, and 
the pulse tranquillized. In a few cases, the sedative effects 
have been much more considerable, so that the patient expresses 
himself as if only " half alive f there is an apparent entire pros- 
tration of strength, great lowness of spirits and unwillingness to 
move, speak or take food. The mind remains clear ; there is an 
absence of pain ; the heat remains natural ; and the pulse, amid 
this suspension of excitement, is steady and quiet. This state 
of things lasts from twelve to twenty-four hours, and is not fol- 
lowed by the heaviness, head-ache and other symptoms, which 
follow opium and the narcotics. There are, however, individuals, 
in whom the acid does not produce these effects, but disagrees 
with the stomach, and cannot be persevered in. 



SO ACIDUM PRUSSICUM. 

It is asserted, that prussic acid is eminently advantageous as a 
palliative in confirmed tubercular phthisis, and that it has even 
cured that disease when formed, and frequently checked it at its 
commencement ; — that it is highly successful in asthma, chronic 
catarrh, hooping cough and sympathetic cough from chronic 
diseases ; — that it affords great benefit in painful and difficult 
menstruation, uterine hemorrhage, and hemoptysis, in nervous 
diseases and derangements of the stomach; — that it is a substi- 
tute for bloodletting in sub-acute inflammations, and for narco- 
tics, when these cannot be employed. 

That the prussic acid has been serviceable in many, if not in 
all the above diseases, there is too great an accumulation of evi- 
dence to permit us to doubt. But allowance must be made for 
the confidence and excitement, which always attend the intro- 
duction of new medicines, and which now give to the prussic 
acid what a multitude of other substances have heretofore enjoy- 
ed. It has been objected to this medicine that, unlike other 
energetic articles of the Materia Medica, it gives no warnings, 
by which we can easily determine the highest safe dose ; that 
the transition from an effect which is imperceptible to one which 
is apparently dangerous is sudden, and sometimes follows the 
increase of the dose by a minute fractional part; that convul- 
sions and suspended animation have ensued when a sixth part 
was added to what had before produced no sensible effect. To 
this is joined the consideration, that chemists are not agreed as 
to the best mode of preparing it, nor successful in preserving it of 
uniform strength and efficiency, so as to enable physicians at all 
times to calculate its power and effect. 

I have had some experience with this medicine, prepared by 
Scheele's process, and have thought well of its operation as a 
palliative in phthisis ; though an apprehension of its conse- 
quences has prevented me from carrying the dose to the height 
which appeared necessary to insure its full effect. In a case of 
hooping cough which came within my knowledge, it was taken 
for a week in gradually increasing doses, until convulsions fol- 
lowed the last dose ; yet the disease was neither checked nor 
shortened in its duration. 



ACONITUM. 51 

The cases published by Dr. Elliotson are less favourable to 
the reputation of prussic acid than those of his predecessors, in 
most of the diseases in which it has been recommended. Dr. 
Macleod has called the attention of the profession to a new 
property of this medicine, when long continued, that of pro- 
ducing ulcerated gums and salivation. 

Exhibition. Two minims of the acid of Scheele, recently 
prepared, may be taken in distilled water or syrup three times a 
day. Much larger doses have been taken, and are probably in 
some cases necessary, to produce the full benefit of the medi- 
cine ; yet such doses are not exempt from hazard. It is proba- 
ble that the action of this medicine is modified by difference of 
constitution, and also by the different nature of the contents of 
the stomach. 

Antidotes. In case of poisoning by prussic acid, vomiting 
should be effected as instantaneously as possible, and cordial 
stimulants, such as brandy, ammonia, oil of turpentine, &c. 
freely given; to which should be added warmth, friction and 
rubefaction with ammonia and other external stimulants. 



ACONITUM. 

•Aconite. 

The Jlconitum neomontanum appears to have been the 
species originally used by Stoerk, though the A. napellus pos- 
sesses properties perfectly similar. The former is a native of 
the mountainous parts of Carinthia and Carniola ; the latter is 
frequently cultivated in gardens under the name of monkshood, 
wolfsbane, &c. They are dangerous narcotics, operating like 
hemlock and stramonium ; and have been employed only in 
some intractable chronic diseases. I have found that a grain of 
the powder, when good, produces nausea and dizziness* 



52 ADEPS.— .ETHER SULPHURICUS. 



ADEPS. 

Lard. 

Hogs lard has an intermediate consistence between the tallow 
of ruminating animals and the oil of cetaceous ones. It is on 
this account a useful basis for many of the common ointments, 
and is much employed for this purpose. It melts at 97°» Sul- 
phuric acid acts rapidly upon it, changing it to a blackish colour. 
The other strong acids are slow in their effect, but finally oxydize 
it, rendering it harder and yellowish. With alkalies it forms 
soaps. Water, alcohol and ether do not dissolve it. Chevreul 
separated lard into two parts, one solid at common temperatures, 
which he calls stearin ; the other fluid, and named elain. Like 
other animal oils, lard is highly nutritive ; but when taken in 
larger quantities than the stomach can fully digest, it proves ca- 
thartic. It is, however, more digestible than is commonly sup- 
posed, and it is worthy of notice, that salt pork agrees with 
some dyspeptics, who cannot take other animal food. 



.ETHER SULPHURICUS. 

Sulphuric Ether. 

The name of ethers is applied to an order of compound 
fluids, produced by the action of strong acids upon alcohol, and 
possessing peculiar chemical and medicinal properties. They 
differ from each other in various physical respects, but for me- 
dicinal use, the sulphuric ether has been selected as a represen- 
tative of the rest. The formula of the United States Pharma- 
copoeia for preparing this ether is the same with that of the 
London College. It contains a minute portion of sulphurous 
acid, with some water and alcohol. From the acid and part of 



-ETHER SULPHURICUS. 53 

the water it may be separated by rectification from potass, as 
directed in the list of Corrigenda. 

The specific gravity of the ether produced by the first distilla- 
tion directed in the Pharmacopoeia is *768 ; that of the second 
distillation, after a new portion of alcohol is added, is *807 ; and 
that of the mixture of these two -788. When rectified like that 
of the British colleges, it has a gravity of from *732 to *725, but 
still contains water and alcohol, since ether has been obtained 
of a gravity as low as *632. 

Qualities. Sulphuric ether has a strong, penetrating odour, 
and a pungent taste. It is limpid and colourless, and highly vola- 
tile, evaporating immediately when poured into the hand, produ- 
cing a sensation of cold. In the open air, it boils at 98° ; and in 
vacuo, at a temperature below the freezing point of water. At 
46° below zero, it congeals in brilliant, transparent plates. It 
is highly inflammable, its vapour taking fire at the approach of 
any ignited body, so that its management requires caution in 
this respect. It unites with ten parts of water, and with any 
amount of alcohol. It dissolves resins, camphor, volatile oils, 
bitumens, extractive, wax and balsams. It takes up one-twen- 
tieth of its weight of sulphur. 

Uses. Ether is stimulant, narcotic and antispasmodic, pro- 
ducing effects analogous to those of alcohol, but in a greater de- 
gree. It is employed as a cordial in diseases of low debility, 
and as an antispasmodic in hysteria, tetanus and cramp of the 
stomach ; also to check vomiting and allay sea-sickness. It 
possesses apparently greater power than any other substance in 
discharging flatulence from the stomach, but it must be remem- 
bered that a great portion of the vapour discharged is the ether 
itself. Externally applied to the exposed surface of the body, 
it produces great cold by its evaporation, and has been advan- 
tageously employed in the reduction of hernia, and the relief 
of head-ache. 

Exhibition. From half a fluidrachm to two fluidrachms may 
be diffused in any mild vehicle for a dose, care being taken that 
the ether be not wasted by unnecessary exposure to the air, or 
by the vehicle being too hot. 



54 SPIRITUS ETHERIS SULPHURICI. 



OLEUM JETHEREUM. 

Ethereal Oil. 

This is a thick, yellow, oily matter, less volatile than ether, 
and with respect to the composition of which chemists are not 
agreed. It is soluble in both alcohol and ether, but insoluble in 
water. It is used in forming the compound spirit of sulphuric 
ether. 



SPIRITUS JETHERIS SULPHURICI. 

Spirit of Sulphuric Ether. 

This combination of ether with twice its quantity of alcohol 
possesses the properties, which are common to the two constitu- 
ents, in an intermediate degree. Its dose is from one to three 
fluidrachms. 



SPIRITUS JETHERIS SULPHURICI COMPOSITUS. 

Compound Spirit of Sulphuric Ether. Formerly Hoffmann's 
•Anodyne Liquor. 

This closely resembles the preparation of Hoffmann, and like 
that is stimulant, anodyne and antispasmodic. It is useful in 
hysteria, and particularly so in procuring sleep for nervous females. 
The dose is one or two fluidrachms. 

Hoffmann employed his liquor anodynus as a palliative in 
calculous disorders, gout, rheumatism, asthma, and various spas- 
modic affections. 



SPIRITUS ^ETHERIS NITROSI.— ALCOHOL. 55 



SPIRITUS ^THERIS NITROSI. 

Spirit of Nitrous Ether. 

The small quantity of acid employed iti making this prepara- 
tion, allows the mixture to be effected without any violent action, 
or the production of much heat, provided the acid is added 
slowly and at intervals. The spirit distilled off* has a fragrant 
odour, and a pungent acidulous taste, with a specific gravity of 
•850. It combines with both water and alcohol. 

Uses. This medicine, under the name of Sweet spirits of 
nitre, has long been known as an antispasmodic, diuretic and 
diaphoretic. It is given in dropsy, and is commonly accounted 
refrigerant in febrile diseases ; but my own observations have 
led me to regard it as too stimulating and heating to be given in 
any of the active forms of fever. A common dose is from 
twenty to forty minims. 



ALCOHOL. 

Alcohol. 

Origin. All vegetable fluids, both natural and factitious, 
which hold sugar in solution, may produce alcohol, by passing 
through the vinous fermentation. The vinous liquids most 
commonly known, are those obtained by fermenting the juices of 
sweet fruits and stems, or the decoctions of farinaceous grains ren- 
dered saccharine by malting. When these liquids are distilled, 
the result is an ardent spirit. Ardent spirits are composed of 
alcohol, water, and a small portion of volatile oil, the taste of 
which distinguishes one spirit from another. Brandy is obtain- 
ed by the distillation of wine, and sometimes from peaches, 



56 ALCOHOL. 

apples, &c. Rum is distilled from the juice of the sugar-cane, 
or from its uncrystallized portion, called molasses. Whiskey 
and gin are distilled from rye and other grains, and arrack from 
rice. Alcohol, nearly pure, may be obtained from any of these, 
by repeated distillation, till about one half comes over, adding 
before the last distillation, a quantity of subcarbonate of potass, 
which retains the water by its strong affinity, while the alcohol 
passes over. It is easily obtained of the specific gravity of *835, 
and has been procured as low as # 791 ; but has probably never 
been wholly freed from water. 

Qualities. Alcohol, from whatever source it is obtained, is 
a transparent, colourless liquid, of a fragrant odour and pungent 
taste. It boils at 176°, and is not frozen by any method hither- 
to communicated to the world. It is highly combustible, and 
burns away with a blue flame, leaving no residium. It com- 
bines with the acids, the pure fixed alkalies, and sparingly with 
sulphur and phosphorus. It is the proper solvent of volatile 
oils, camphor, resins and balsams, which may be precipitated by 
water. In common with water, it dissolves sugar, extract tan- 
nin, soaps, and many of the metallic and deliquescent salts. It 
does not dissolve some of the substances, which are most soluble 
in water, such as gum, faecula, and the alkaline carbonates. 

Uses. Officinal alcohol is not much used in medicine, being 
too highly stimulating, heating and intoxicating, for common pur- 
poses. Its principal use is that of a pharmaceutical solvent, 
and in certain cases, of an external application to the body. 
Employed in the latter way, it is highly useful in some erysi- 
pelatous affections, particularly erysipelas infantilis, which dis- 
ease I have found to disappear more rapidly under its use than 
from any other application I have tried. Common proof spirits, 
which derive their efficacy from the alcohol they contain, are 
strong diffusible stimulants, and are sometimes used medicinally 
in cases of debility, low fevers, &c. as substitutes for wine, 
when this cannot be procured, or when it disagrees with the 
patient. They are even to be preferred to wine in the case of 
habitually intemperate persons, whose stomachs have become 
insensible to any half-way stimulus. Spirits, diluted with water, 



ALCOHOL DILUTUM,— ALETRIS. 57 

agree with dyspeptic patients better than most other drinks ; 
but their use should be kept within the strictest bounds, and the 
quantity not suffered to increase. Many patients have become 
gradually and imperceptibly intemperate under the sanction 
and guidance of a physician. 

Exhibition. Alcohol is seldom given in its pure state. Tn 
the low stage of typhoid fevers, a fluidrachm of proof spirit dilut- 
ed with water forms a substitute for a table spoonful of wine ; 
which see. 



ALCOHOL DILUTUM. 

Diluted Alcohol. 

Alcohol, diluted with an equal weight of water, is preferred to 
proof spirit for the preparation of tinctures and other pharma- 
ceutical purposes, being uniform in its strength and sensible 
properties. It is the best solvent for vegetables containing a 
variety of heterogeneous constituents. Diluted alcohol, as it is 
now corrected, may be made by mixing equal weights of its 
constituents ; or near enough, by mixing ten gallons of alcohol 
with eight gallons and three pints of water. 



ALETRIS. 

Star Grass. 

The root of the Metris farinosa, a native plant, is a resinous 
bitter of the most intense and permanent kind. It communicates 
its properties to alcohol better than to water. It is employed in 
small doses as a tonic ; but if given to a larger amount than 
twelve or fifteen grains, it has sometimes produced narcotic 
symptoms. Its chief use is as a stomachic, in small doses. 



58 ALLIUM ALOE. 



ALLIUM. 

Garlic. 

Garlic and other plants of its genus have a well known offen- 
sive odour and taste, which, however, in a weakened state, 
render them an agreeable condiment with food. These quali- 
ties depend on a thick, acrid, yellowish, volatile oil, which may 
be separated by distillation, leaving the bulbs nearly inert. 
Garlic is stimulant, expectorant and diuretic. It is given in 
the form of syrup in chronic coughs, and the secondary stages 
of pneumonia; also, in combination with other medicines, in 
dropsy. Externally the bruised bulbs, in the form of a poultice, 
act as rubefacients. 



ALOE. 

Aloes. 

Origin. Most species of the genus Aloe are bitter and purga- 
tive, and the drug is no doubt obtained from a variety of these 
plants. Many tropical countries now produce it, and the old 
names of Socotrine and Barbadoes or Hepatic aloes, are kept 
up rather as distinctive of the quality, than as indicating the 
real origin of the drug. Very little, if any of the aloes now im- 
ported into the United States, ever comes from the island of 
Socotora ; while India, and more especially the Cape of Good 
Hope, furnish the principal supply of our markets. The latter 
place is, as it were, the nursery and native country of this race 
of plants ; and the most valuable species, the Moe spicata, grows 
there in abundance, and furnishes the best samples of the article 
which are met with among us. It is said, however, that the 
sorts most nearly resembling the original Socotrine aloes, are 



ALOE. 59 

those brought from Mocha and Smyrna. Besides the species 
above named, very good aloes are obtained from the Aloe per- 
foliate!, A. vulgaris, A. linguceformis, &c. 

The officinal drug is the inspissated juice of one or more of 
these plants. It is prepared in various ways, and its goodness 
is no doubt influenced by the mode of preparation. At Socotora 
the juice is expressed from the leaves, and evaporated to a 
proper consistence in the sun's heat, in flat vessels. At the 
Cape it is pressed out and evaporated by boiling. In some 
parts of the West Indies a decoction is made by enclosing the 
sliced leaves in a basket or net, and suspending them in large 
boilers of water, until the liquor becomes black; after which, 
the leaves are removed, and the decoction inspissated, the scum 
being from time to time removed. 

Qualities. The Socotrine aloes have an intensely bitter 
taste, and a strong, heavy and somewhat aromatic smell. Their 
colour is a dark red or brown, with a glossy, vitreous fracture. 
The edges are translucent, and the powder of a bright yellow. 
The other sorts are less bright in colour, and less glossy in their 
surface. The odour is also more disagreeable. The name of 
Hepatic aloes was taken from the resemblance of their colour to 
that of the human liver. Aloes are commonly viewed as a gum 
resin. Braconnot has represented them as consisting chiefly of 
a peculiar substance, to which he gives the name of resinous 
bitter principle. Boiling water dissolves the greater portion of 
aloes which are pure, but deposits a part on cooling. Diluted 
alcohol, or proof spirit, is their best solvent. The alkalies facili- 
tate the solution in the stomach, and cause them to operate 
more mildly and equally on the intestines. The Socotrine, 
Bombay and Cape aloes, contain a portion of volatile oil, which 
is not found in the Barbadoes. 

Uses and Exhibition. Aloes are a stimulating cathartic, ex- 
tensively used, both pure and in combination. On account of their 
bitterness, they are best administered in pills ; and these being- 
slow of solution in the stomach, are supposed to pass unchanged 
into the intestines, and to exert their stimulus, more than other 
cathartics, on the colon and rectum. They are given in doses 



60 ALUMEN. 

of ten or fifteen grains, and though sometimes slow in their 
operation, they are generally sure. To obviate costiveness, 
smaller doses are sufficient, except in the case of individuals of 
sedentary life, who have acquired the pernicious habit of de- 
pending on cathartic medicines for relief, and who of course 
require a gradually increasing stimulus. Aloes act specifically 
on the uterus, and form a valuable emmenagogue. They are 
contra-indicated in hemorrhoids and menorrhagia. 



ALUMEN. 
Mum. 

Origin. It is found native in Solfaterra and elsewhere, in 
connexion with argillaceous earths and stones, from which it 
effloresces, or is extracted by lixiviation. But it is more fre- 
quently obtained from schistose pyritic clays, called alum ores, 
which do not afford it on being first taken from the earth, but 
on being calcined, the sulphur is converted into acid, which 
combines with the earthy and alkaline bases, on the addition of 
moistube, and affords alum. In the United States alum has 
been found in various localities. 

Qualities. The form of its crystals is octahedral. Its taste 
is sweetish, acidulous and astringent. It is insoluble in alcohol. 
A fluidounce of cold water, or half the quantity of boiling water, 
dissolves thirty grains. Alum consists of alumina, with a por- 
tion of potass or ammonia, combined with an excess of sulphuric 
acid. 

Uses. It is sometimes useful, as an astringent, in discharges 
attended with a low pulse, but should not be relied on to the ex- 
clusion of more active remedies. In large doses it is cathartic. 

Exhibition. Ten grains dissolved in water form a dose. A 
saturated solution is a useful gargle in sore throats and apthse, and 
a styptic in hemorrhage. Alum whey is made by coagulating a 
pint of milk with two drachms of alum, of which a wine glass 



ALUMEN EXSICCATUM.— AMMONIA. 61 

full may be taken at a time in diarrhoea, &c. The curd forms a 
convenient astringent poultice. Alum is decomposed by alkalies 
and many of their salts ; also by gallic acid. Hence Dr. Paris 
observes, that the compound powders made of alum with galls or 
kino, are weaker than either of their ingredients. 



ALUMEN EXSICCATUM. 

Dried Mum. 

Dried or « burnt" alum, having lost its water of crystalliza- 
tion, becomes stronger than before, and is used as a mild es- 
charotic, to repress exuberant granulations in ulcers. 



AMMONIA. 

Ammonia. 



Ammonia, otherwise called volatile alkali, is a gaseous fluid, 
extremely pungent and acrid, changing vegetable blues to a 
green, incapable of supporting combustion, rapidly absorbed by 
water, which takes up 670 times its volume, and is increased in 
bulk, but diminished in specific gravity. It combines with acids 
forming salts, and dissolves sulphur and phosphorus. Ammonia 
consists, according to Henry, of 26 parts of nitrogen to 74 of hy- 
drogen by bulk ; or, of 19.64 of hydrogen to 80.36 of nitrogen by 
weight. Water and alcohol, impregnated with this gas, are used 
in medicine. 



62 AMMONIA MURIAS. 



AMMONIA MURIAS. 

Muriate of Ammonia, called Sal Ammoniac. 

Origin. This salt was originally brought from Egypt, and 
derived its name from the temple of Jupiter Ammon. It is pro- 
cured in that country by subliming the soot of fuel formed by the 
excrements of grazing animals. It is now manufactured in 
Europe from a sulphate of ammonia obtained by maceration 
from coal soot, or formed from gypsum with an alkaline liquor 
distilled from bones or other animal substances. This sulphate 
of ammonia is mixed with muriate of soda, and exposed to 
heat. A mutual decomposition takes place, by which sulphate 
of soda remains at the bottom of the vessel, while muriate of 
ammonia sublimes, and is collected at the top. It is some- 
times found native, in small quantities, near volcanoes. 

Qualities. It usually comes in white, crystalline, concave 
masses, with a striated fracture, and difficult to pulverize. The 
taste is acrid, saltish and bitter. It is soluble in an equal weight 
of boiling water, and in three or four times its weight of cold 
water, producing a considerable reduction of temperature dur- 
ing its solution. It is also dissolved in less than five times its 
weight of alcohol. On the application of heat it wholly sublimes, 
without melting, or altering its nature. This affords one of the 
best tests of its purity. 

Uses. Muriate of ammonia was formerly employed as an 
internal medicine by Hoffman and others, in intermittens, &c. 
in doses of one or two drachms. It has now gone into disuse, 
and is only employed externally as a refrigerant and discu- 
tient. It cannot be given with safety, as an internal remedy, when 
any fixed alkali or alkaline earth is present, which, by combining 
with its acid, may liberate the ammonia in a caustic form. 

Exhibition. Dissolved in water, in the proportion of an 
ounce to a pint, it forms a useful lotion in external inflamma- 



AQUA AMMONIA. 63 

tions, particularly of the mammae. A mild stimulating plaster 
has been formed from soap 3i, lead plaster 3ii, melted and 
mixed with muriate of ammonia 3 ss. A slow decomposition 
takes place, by which gaseous ammonia is liberated and acts 
upon the skin. The plaster must be renewed as often as it 
becomes inert. 



AQUA AMMONITE. 

Water of Jlmmonia. 

This article consists of water strongly impregnated with pure 
ammonia, which passes over in distillation, when muriate is 
decomposed by the superior affinity of lime. 

Qualities. Water of ammonia, or liquid ammonia, is a col- 
ourless fluid, of a strong, pungent odour with an extremely acrid 
taste, and inflames the skin. It attracts carbonic acid rapidly from 
the atmosphere, so that it should be kept carefully stopped. It 
dissolves many of the metallic oxides, and unites with all the 
acids without effervescence, forming salts. 

Uses. It is a strong, cordial stimulant, familiarly known, in 
common with some similar preparations, under the names of 
hartshorn and volatile drops. It is peculiarly useful in syn- 
cope, hysteria, and nervous head-ache. By its alkaline property 
it neutralizes acids in the stomach, at the same time that it com- 
municates vigour to that organ. Hence it is one of the best 
palliatives in dyspepsia. Externally applied, as in the liniment 
of ammonia, it is a most speedy and powerful rubefacient. 

Exhibition. From ten to twenty minims may be taken in a 
wine glass of water, which should not be too warm, or long ex- 
posed. Acids, metallic salts and alum are chemically incompat- 
ible with it, It loses its strength when kept long in corked 
phials. 



64 AMMONITE SUBCARBONAS. 



ALCOHOL AMMONIATUM. 

Ammoniated Alcohol, 

This is a strong preparation of ammonia. The United States 
Pharmacopoeia employs somewhat more alcohol in its formation 
than the Edinburgh, and limits the quantity drawn off to a pint 
and a half. Ammoniated alcohol agrees, in its sensible and me- 
dicinal effects, with water of ammonia, and is chiefly used in 
making ammoniated tinctures. 



AMMONLE SUBCARBONAS. 

Subcarbonate of Ammonia. 

This salt is produced by a double decomposition of the sub- 
stances employed. Muriate of lime is formed and remains in 
ihe retort, while subcarbonate of ammonia comes over and con- 
cretes on the sides of the receiver. 

Qualities. It has the peculiar pungent odour of ammonia, 
and a slightly acrid, yet cooling taste. It is usually a white, 
semitransparent mass, with a striated fracture, and a specific 
gravity of *966. When pure, it is totally volatilized by a mode- 
rate heat. It is soluble in less than three parts of cold water, 
and in an equal weight of warm water ; but is insoluble in alcohol. 
It changes vegetable blues to green, and is therefore a swft-carbo- 
nate.* In the air it effloresces, and loses its pungent odour. 

* This salt is styled subcarbonate of ammonia by the present London 
and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias, and is now corrected in the American 
formula derived from them. This salt and the inodorous carbonate have 
been examined by Mr. Phillips and Dr. Ure, and denominated carbonate 
and bicarbonate. But there is an obvious propriety, for practical pur- 
poses, in denominating as sub-salts those which are not saturated with 
acid, independently of the advantage of community of language among 
pharmacopoeias. 



AMMONIiE ACETAS LIQUIDUS. 65 

Uses. Under the name of volatile salt, this article is well 
known as a common stimulant, antispasmodic and antacid. Its 
medical character depends on its alkali, and is essentially the 
same with that of water of ammonia. From its solid form, it is 
more conveniently kept in bottles as smelling salts in syncope 
and hysteria. Our druggists prepare an extemporaneous substi- 
tute for this purpose, by mixing muriate of ammonia and subcar- 
bonate of potass, and moistening them with a few drops of water 
of ammonia. A slow decomposition takes place, and evolves for 
a long time a powerful odour of ammonia. 

Exhibition. From five to twenty grains form a dose, in pills 
or solution. Thirty grains produce vomiting. Acids are incom- 
patible with it, since they neutralize the ammonia. Fixed alka- 
lies, lime, &c. increase its activity by abstracting its carbonic 
acid. 



AQUA AMMONITE SUBCARBONATIS. 

Water of Subcarbonate of Ammonia. 

This is a superfluous preparation, being more costly and less 
active, than the water of ammonia, with which it otherwise 



AMMONIA ACETAS LIQUIDUS. 

Liquid Acetate of Ammonia, commonly called Spirit of 
Mindererus. 

This liquid is a solution of acetate of ammonia in water, with 
carbonic acid and a minute portion of other substances derived 
from the vinegar. It has a saline and rather disagreeable taste. 
It is much esteemed as a cooling diaphoretic in febrile diseases, 



GG AMMONIiE HYDROSULPHURETUM.— AMMONIACUM. 

though it is apt to pass off by the kidnies, if the skin be kept 
cool. 

Exhibition. From a quarter to half of a fluidounce may be 
given once in three hours. Fixed alkalies, magnesia, &c. de- 
compose it, and convert it from a cooling into a stimulating 
medicine. 



AMMONIiE HYDROSULPHURETUM. 

Hydrositlphuret of Ammonia. 

Hydrosulphuret of ammonia is a liquid of a dark green colour, 
a fetid odour, and a pungent, disagreeable taste. It has the 
character of a powerful sedative, lessening the action of the 
circulating system, impairing the appetite and digestion, and 
bringing on dizziness, nausea and vomiting. It has been princi- 
pally applied to the treatment of diabetes, with a view of dimin- 
ishing the morbid appetite and powerful action of the digestive 
organs, which sometimes attend that disease. 

Exhibition. Five or six minims may be given in water three 
times a day, and gradually increased until nausea or vertigo 
occur. Acids decompose this medicine. 



AMMONIACUM. 

Jlmmoniacum. 

Origin. The ancients represented this drug as the product 
of an umbelliferous plant growing in Lybia. Mr. Jackson, in 
his Morocco, p. 82, has given an imperfect plate of it and de- 
scription, under the name of feshook, from which it appears that 
it is of the umbellate order. Willdenow succeeded in raising a 
plant from seed found among the gum. It proved a new species 



AMYGDALA. 67 

of Heracleum, to which he gave the name of gummife-riim. 
He did not, however, procure any ammoniacum from his plant, 
and it does not agree with Jackson's drawing. Ammoniacum 
is a gum resin produced by the concretion of the juice. The 
purest sort is brought from the East Indies. The African is 
often mixed with red earth. 

Qualities. It comes in irregular, yellowish, brittle masses ; 
whitish and vitreous within. The taste is a nauseous bitter 
sweet. Its heterogenous nature prevents it from being soluble 
in any one menstruum ; but water, by dissolving the gum, is able 
to suspend the resin in the form of emulsion. 

Uses. Its powers are not of the most active kind, yet it is 
considered a useful expectorant in pulmonary complaints not 
attended with inflammation of the cellular membrane. 

Exhibition. The best form is that of the ammoniacum 
mixture, which see. In substance a dose is from ten to thirty 
grains in pills made with soap. 



AMYGDALA. 

Mmond. 

The almond tree is a native of Asia, but cultivated in the 
south of Europe and the Barbary states. The sweet and bitter 
almonds are varieties only distinguishable from each other by 
the taste. The best kind of the former are the Jordan almonds, 
brought from Malaga. These kernels contain more than half 
their weight of oil, and the residue is chiefly albumen, with some 
sugar and gum. They are simply nutritious and demulcent, and 
form a useful vehicle for other medicines. They are blanched 
by infusing them in hot water and rubbing off the skins. Bitter 
almonds contain prussic acid, and their distilled water is poi- 
sonous in a certain degree, although in the fruit its combination 
and small quantity render it nearly inactive, 



68 AMYGDALA OLEUM.— ANGUSTURA. 

AMYGDALA OLEUM. 

Oil of Jllmonds. 

This is the most grateful to the taste of all the common fixed 
oils, and should be made by bruising the almonds to a pulp, and 
expressing the oil without heat. Its taste and qualities are the 
same, whether it is procured from sweet or bitter almonds. 
When fresh prepared, it is bland, sweetish and inodorous. A 
great portion, however, of the oil kept in the shops is rancid 
from age. Almond oil in its effects is demulcent, sheathing and 
nutritive. The French syrup, called Orgeat, is a solution of 
sugar in almond oil, and forms with water an extemporaneous 
and very grateful emulsion. 



ANGUSTURA. 

Jlngustura. 



"<=>' 



Origin. This bark was first imported into Europe less than 
half a century ago, and its origin was unknown until since the 
travels of Humboldt and Bonpland in South America. These 
naturalists discovered the tree which produces it to belong to 
a new genus, which they called Casperia. Willdenow soon after 
published a monograph of the tree, giving it the appropriate 
name of Bonplandia trifoliata, which name is now generally 
received, and is adopted by Humboldt in the splendid work, the 
Plantce Equinojciales, where a figure is published. It is closely 
allied to the genus Quassia. 

Qualities. This bark comes in pieces of moderate size, of a 
brownish colour, and covered with a thin whitish cuticle on the 
outside. It breaks with a short resinous fracture, and has a 
strong bitter taste combined with a slight aromatic flavour and 



ANGELICA. 69 

pungency. The powder, triturated with lime or magnesia, gives 
a smell of ammonia. Its soluble portions are resin, a resinous 
extractive, cinchonin, carbonate of ammonia, and a whitish es- 
sential oil. Diluted alcohol, or proof spirit, is found to be its 
most perfect solvent. 

Uses. It is tonic and stimulant, without astringency ; hence 
it can be taken by many persons who are oppressed by the 
Peruvian bark, and furnishes a useful substitute in such cases. 
It aids the digestion, and expels flatulence, and may be applied 
to any of those cases in which vegetable bitters are indicated. 
It was first introduced as a febrifuge, but in intermittents it is 
found inferior to the cinchona, and in an inflammatory diathesis 
it is too heating. 

Exhibition. Of the powder, from five to twenty grains are a 
dose, to be taken in syrup, milk or wine, three times a day as a 
tonic. This form is better than the infusion or tincture. Many 
of the metallic salts, the strong acids and alkalies, occasion pre- 
cipitates from its solutions, and have therefore been supposed 
incompatible with its full action. 

Adulteration. A spurious bark, that of the Brucea anti- 
dysenterica, has sometimes been introduced into the markets, un- 
der the name of Angustura. It is characterized by its cuticle 
being covered with a substance resembling rust of iron. This, if 
agitated with diluted muriatic acid, assumes a bright green colour, 
and if prussiate of potass be added, a blue colour takes place. 
This bark is poisonous ; and a vegetable alkali, Brucea or Bru- 
cine, has been extracted from it. 



ANGELICA. 

Angelica. 

An American species of angelica is substituted for the Euro- 
pean one of the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia. It is a tall, umbellate 
plant, five or six feet high, with large hollow stalks, growing in 
10 



70 ANISUM.— ANTHEMIS. 

wet places, and differing from most other umbellate aquatics~in 
having no poisonous property, at least in moderate quantities. Its 
medicinal qualities appear to reside in a volatile oil. Both the 
taste and smell of this plant are highly agreeable, resembling those 
of the European angelica, which Mr. Thompson considers " the 
most elegant aromatic of northern growth." The root, stalks and 
seeds are employed as tonics and carminatives, in the dose of 
one or two scruples. 



ANISUM. 

Anise, 

The Pimpinella anisum is an annual umbelliferous plant of the 
south of Europe, easily susceptible of cultivation in the United 
States. The seeds have a grateful, aromatic, sweetish taste, re- 
siding in a yellowish, volatile oil, which concretes at 50°. This 
oil is the seat of their activity. Anise is used in flatulent pains, 
particularly of infants. It is the basis of a popular spirituous 
cordial. 



ANTHEMIS. 

Chamomile, 

Common chamomile is native in England, and on account of 
the great consumption of its flowers, it would reward cultivation 
on a large scale in the United States. It is perennial, and will 
grow well in poor, sandy soils. All parts of the plant might pro- 
perly be converted to medical use, though the flowers are the 
part made officinal, and of these the single ones, known by their 
yellow disc or centre, are somewhat strongest in their sensible 
qualities. The taste of chamomile is bitter and aromatic, and its 
active qualities reside chiefly in extractive matter and essential 
oil. Infusion in water extracts the former, and detains a consid- 



ANTIMONIUM. 71 

erable portion of the latter. Taken cold, this infusion is service- 
able as a tonic in loss of appetite, chlorosis, &c. It is an anti- 
spasmodic, well suited to the nervous debility of females. Taken 
warm in larger quantities it is nauseating, and is commonly em- 
ployed to aid the operation of emetics. Probably any bitter 
infusion would do as well. The same remark may apply to the 
use of chamomile in external fomentations and poultices. 



rfJVTIMOJVIUM. 

Antimony, 

Pure metallic antimony is introduced into the Materia Medi- 
ca, because it furnishes the material employed in the American 
formula for tartar emetic. In a medical point of view, this metal 
is wholly inert, unless it meets with an acid in the stomach, in 
which case it may form an operative compound. It is obtained 
from the sulphuret of antimony, by heating it to ignition in a 
crucible with iron filings, which attract the sulphur, while the 
antimony is melted ; or by roasting the sulphuret and exposing 
the residue with black flux to a red heat. Antimony is of a bril- 
liant blueish white, foliated and brittle, with a specific gravity 
about 6.7, melting at 810°, and sublimed unchanged at a high 
heat. 

Although metallic antimony does not act as a medicine, it is 
the basis of many efficient compounds, and in common language 
its name is employed to represent some of the most active of 
these. The emetic and cathartic substances called antimonials, 
have been known as internal medicines for several centuries, hav- 
ing always been recognized as powerful, and sometimes as poi- 
sonous substances. In 1566 the use of antimony was prohibited 
in France by an edict of Parliament, and in 1609 one Besnier 
was expelled from the medical faculty for having given it to his 
patients. The prohibitory decree against antimony continued in 
force for nearly a century, when it was repealed ; but was soon 



72 ANTIMONH SULPHURETUM. 

followed by another decree forbidding its use by any but doctors 
of the faculty. During the early part of the medical warfare 
respecting it, a work in High Dutch, called the Triumphwagen, 
or Triumphal Chariot of Antimony, by Basil Valentine, appears 
to have been instrumental in directing public opinion in its 
favour. The story from which the name of the metal is taken,* 
and by which Basil Valentine is said to have fattened his pigs, 
and killed his brother monks with the same medicine, is more 
amusing than probable. In modern practice the action of anti- 
mony is principally known through the antimonium tartarizatum, 
which see. Indeed the other preparations, into which antimony 
has been tortured, might mostly be dispensed with, without im^ 
portant loss to the Materia Medica. 



ANTIMONH SULPHURETUM, 

Sulphuret of Jlntimony. 

This is the common crude antimony of commerce, and the 
source of all the preparations used in medicine. It is the grey 
ore of the metal, separated from its earthy impurities by fusion at 
a low red heat, and afterwards cast in moulds. This ore is found 
in most countries of Europe, and also occurs in Connecticut, 
Massachusetts, Virginia and Louisiana. The fused sulphuret has, 
when broken, a peculiar striated or spicular appearance, and a 
steelly metallic lustre. It stains the ringers when rubbed, tar- 
nishes by long exposure to the air, and is insoluble in water. It 
is entirely volatile at a red heat. If it is adulterated with lead, 
it acquires a foliated instead of a striated texture, and the whole 
of it cannot be volatilized ; if with arsenic, it emits the odour of 
that metal, when thrown upon live coals, and is indicated by 
the other tests. Sulphuret of antimony does not deserve to be 
employed in medicine, being itself a rather inert substance, sub-* 
ject however to be rendered violently active by accidental com- 
binations, and often contaminated with noxious minerals. The. 

^ Antimonium-, from atv?/, against ; /aov&xos, monk-! 



ANTIMONII OXIDUM. 73 

prepared sulphuret of antimony of the Pharmacopoeia is merely 
this substance reduced to an impalpable powder. 



ANTIMONII SULPHURETUM PRECIPITATUM. 

Precipitated Sulphuret of Antimony. Formerly Golden Sul- 
phur of Antimony. 

This is a sulphuretted hydrosulphuret of oxide of antimony. 
It is an orange-coloured, styptic, inflammable powder, insoluble 
in water. In a dose of two or three grains, it is considered dia- 
phoretic and expectorant, but is uncertain and little used. 



ANTIMONII OXIDUM. 

Oxide of Antimony. Formerly Diaphoretic Antimony. 

The article inserted by this name in the list of Corrigenda was 
omitted, probably by oversight, in the National Pharmacopoeia. 
It is the article which enters into the composition of pills on pages 
176 and 178 of that work, under the name of oxide of antimony. 
On restoring it to the Pharmacopoeia, it became necessary to 
change the name of another article called oxide, which is the 
old crocus of antimony, into oxidum antimonii sulphuratum, to 
preserve a distinction between two articles of very different acti- 
vity. 

The present article, prepared by igniting antimony with nitrate 
of potass, is a peroxide of antimony with potass, or, more properly, 
considering the metal as acidified, an antimoniate of potass. It 
was formerly known by the names of calcined or diaphoretic an- 
timony, and is one of the weakest preparations, being given as a 
sudorific, in doses of twenty or thirty grains. It must be remem- 
bered that the oxidum antimonii of the London College is a prot- 
oxide, and a far more active medicine. 



74 ANTIMONIf OXIDUM VITRIFICATUM. 



ANTIMONII OXIDUM SULPHURATUM. 

Sulphuretted Oxide of Antimony . Formerly Crocus of Antimony. 

This is the Oxidum antimonii cum sulphure per nitratem 
potassce of the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, a violent and uncertain 
medicine, chiefly used in veterinary practice. Pharmacopoeia , 
page 78. 



ANTIMONII OXIDUM VITRIFICATUM. 

Vitrified Oxide of Antimony. Formerly Glass of Antimony. 
This preparation also is uncertain and little used. 

ANTIMONII OXIDUM VITRIFICATUM CUM CERA. 

Vitrified Oxide of Antimony with Wax, Formerly Cerated 
Glass of Antimony. 

This most singular preparation is a sort of plaster roasted to 
dryness, till it is of the colour of Scotch snuff, and pulverized. 
In doses of from five to twenty grains it purges, sometimes vom* 
its, and has been given in dysentery and croup. 

PULVIS ANTIMONIALIS. 

Antimonial Powder. Called James's Powder. 

This is nearly the Oxidum antimonii cum phosphate calcis of 
the Edinburgh College, and is an imitation of the formerly cele* 



' ANTIMONIUM TARTARIZATUM. 75 

brated powders of Dr. James. It is inodorous, insipid, of a dull 
white colour, and insoluble in water. It is diaphoretic in doses of 
from three to eight grains, and emetic and purgative in larger ones. 
It had formerly very great reputation at the commencement of 
fevers and inflammatory affections, but it may be doubted wheth- 
er it possesses any advantages which may not be derived with 
more certainty from tartar emetic. 



ANTIMONII MURIAS. 

Muriate of Antimony. 

Muriate of antimony, although crystallizable, is generally a 
soft solid, of a yellowish white colour, very fusible, volatile at a 
moderate heat, and highly deliquescent. It is a violently active 
preparation, used only as a caustic, and less easily managed than 
the other caustics in common use. 



ANTIMONIUM TARTARIZATUiM. 

Tartarized Antimony. Called Tartar Emetic. 

Preparation. As this important medicine has nearly super- 
seded all the other preparations of antimony, and at the present 
day justly stands at the head of emetics, it becomes desirable 
that a uniform and certain mode of preparing it of regular 
strength should be adopted. The London, Edinburgh, Dublin 
and Paris Pharmacopceias all employ different materials and pro- 
cesses to form this salt The process of the American Pharma- 
copceia is that proposed by Mr. Phillips, and appears better cal- 
culated than those of the British colleges, to produce a pure 
tartarized antimony with uniformity, ease and economy. Mr. 
Phillips observes, that the qualities requisite in an eligible meth- 



76 ANTIMONIUM TARTARIZATUM. 

od of preparing tartar emetic are, the certainty of obtaining 
protoxide of antimony unmixed with peroxide or sulphuretted 
oxide, jet not absolutely pure, but mixed with a substance capa- 
ble of preventing the crystallization of the tartrate of lime ; 
moderate expense, and the possibility of using iron vessels, both 
in preparing the oxide of antimony and the tartarized antimony. 
In his process, adopted by the American Pharmacopceia, a sub- 
sulphate of antimony is first formed. On boiling 100 parts of this 
with 100 parts of cream of tartar in solution, 76 parts of the sub- 
sulphate were readily dissolved, and afforded, at the first crystal- 
lization, rather more than 90 parts of crystals of tartarized an- 
timony, perfectly white, and unmixed with any extraneous salt. 
The solution, by further evaporation, furnished an additional quan- 
tity of crystals of emetic tartar, slightly incrusted with sulphate 
of lime, from which, however, they were completely purified by 
solution and repeating the crystallization. A considerable quan- 
tity of sulphate of lime was also deposited and separated during 
the evaporation. 

Tartarized antimony has been made by the foregoing method 
in the United States ; and used in several of our cities sufficient- 
ly to establish its character. In its operation it agrees with the 
best imported tartar emetic. 

Qualities. Tartarized antimony has a white colour, and a 
styptic metallic taste. The primitive form of its crystals is the 
regular tetrahedron, though it assumes various secondary forms. 
The crystals effloresce slightly on exposure, and become black 
when thrown upon coals. It is soluble, according to Dr. Duncan, 
in fifteen times its weight of cold water, and in three times its 
weight of boiling water. The solution, when long kept, deposits 
a sediment, and is weakened in its emetic power. Sometimes 
this deposit takes place rapidly, in which case, according to Dr. 
Paris, it consists chiefly of tartrate of lime, an impurity derived 
from the cream of tartar. Some obscurity still exists in regard 
to the composition of tartar emetic. Gay Lussac has lately given 
an opinion, that the supertartrate of potass acts the part of a sim- 
ple acid in its formation ; and Dr. Ure has styled it a cream 
tartrate of antimony. Dr. Paris observes that, in the present 



ANTIMONIUM TARTARIZATUM. 77 

state of our knowledge respecting it, no name can be more 
appropriate than antimonium tartarizatum. As tartarized 
antimony is liable to be adulterated, it should be purchased 
in its crystalline form ; it should be wholly soluble in water in 
about the proportions above-mentioned, and the solution should 
yield a copious gold-coloured precipitate with sulphuret of am- 
monia. 

Uses. Tartarized antimony performs the office of an active, 
efficient and powerful emetic. It stimulates the stomach into 
forcible and long continued efforts to discharge its whole contents. 
It inverts the action of the duodenum, and brings bile into the 
stomach, which continues to be thrown off, after the ingesta are 
evacuated. By the force of its operation it draws remote parts of 
the system into sympathetic action, and breaks up diseased asso- 
ciations, which are unconnected with the state of the stomach. 
It is therefore preferred in common practice to all other emetics, 
where the object desired is, not simply to relieve the stomach 
from offensive contents, but to apply active vomiting to the cure 
of disease. This is particularly the case at the commencement 
of common continued fevers, in which, when liberally adminis- 
tered, it does more to prevent or break up the disease at its 
onset than any single remedy, bloodletting sometimes excepted, 
which is now employed. In various local inflammations, attend- 
ed with fever, and in other morbid states of the body, which call 
for a vigorous emetic, it stands before other medicines of its 
class ; giving place only to sulphate of zinc, where poisons have 
been swallowed, and to ipecacuanha, when a forcible operation is 
contraindicated or unnecessary. Tartarized antimony acts ap- 
parently on the muscles concerned in vomiting, through the me- 
dium of the brain and nervous system, and operates more speed- 
ily when injected into a vein than when received into the stom- 
ach, as appears from experiments made on animals. 

When tartar emetic is given in such doses as fall a little 
short of vomiting, it usually operates on the bowels. The sur- 
plus portion of an emetic, which is not ejected with the other 
contents of the stomach, frequently acts in this way. A little 
11 



78 ANTIMONIUM TARTARIZATUM. 

tartarized antimony added to cathartic combinations greatly in- 
creases their activity. 

In minute doses, frequently repeated, this medicine has a re- 
laxing, alterative, diaphoretic and expectorant effect, diminishing 
the force of the circulation, abating inflammatory action, and 
answering, as well as assisting, the intention of depletive reme- 
dies. The stomach, by use, will bear gradually increasing doses, 
if repeated about once in two hours, augmented from one-eighth 
of a grain to two grains ; though, when the quantity has become 
large, a sense of debility and great aversion follows the exhibition 
of each dose. 

Applied to the surface of the body, tartarized antimony exerts 
an action which is somewhat specific, consisting in a pustular 
eruption, with frequently a dark colour of the skin, slow in heal- 
ing, and accompanied with a sensation like that from the continu- 
ed presence of caustic. Hence it is one of the most powerful 
and permanent of external stimulants, well adapted to formidable 
and deep seated inflammations. 

Exhibition. Tartarized antimony is best given in the form 
of solution in water. For an emetic eight grains may be dis- 
solved in as many spoonfuls of water, and of these, two may be 
given at first, and one repeated every twenty minutes, till the 
desired amount of vomiting takes place. In important and crit- 
ical cases of incipient fever, a larger quantity may be given 
at once, since the chance of interrupting the fever, or of mitigat- 
ing its character, is more than sufficient to compensate the evil of 
severe vomiting. An aqueous solution of four grains to the fluid- 
ounce is a more convenient emetic for children than the wine, 
from the circumstance of its having little taste ; but it sometimes 
acts with violence. A teaspoonful or fluidrachm of this solu- 
tion will commonly vomit a child two years old. Half a flui- 
drachm, or less, of the same solution may be given as an alterative 
to an adult, and repeated once in two or three hours with a grad- 
ual increase, unless purging or nausea become troublesome. Com- 
binations of small quantities of tartarized antimony, submuriate 
of mercury and opium, are highly useful in various inflammatory 
affections. For an external stimulant, the following Ointment 



APOCYNUM.— AQUA. 79 

of tartarized antimont is recommended : Take of tartarized 
antimony one drachm ; lard one ounce. Mix. Perpetual blis- 
ters are speedily revived, when inclined to dry up, by washing 
them with a weak solution of tartar emetic. 



APOCYNUM. 

Bog's Bane. 

The Jpocynum androscemifolium is a native lactescent plant, 
growing about the borders of woods and fences, and frequently 
denominated Ipecac. The root has an unpleasant and intensely 
bitter taste. It contains a bitter extractive matter ; a red colour- 
ing matter soluble in water, but not in alcohol ; a volatile oil and 
caoutchouc. It operates on many persons as an emetic in doses 
of one or two scruples, and in smaller quantities is tonic and 
stomachic. 



AQUA. 

Water. 

Water is a compound of oxygen and hydrogen, in the propor- 
tion by weight of 88.24 parts of the former, to 11.76 of the latter. 
Its extensive solvent powers render it of great use in pharmacy. 
For all nicer purposes, distilled water should be employed ; which 
see. For the common preparation of vegetable infusions and de- 
coctions, spring or well water, provided it is perfectly soft, may 
be used. In its different natural situations, water varies very 
much in regard to purity,- and in this respect may be considered 
in the following order : 1. — Rain water. The water of the at- 
mosphere, being the product of a sort of natural distillation, is 
more free than any natural water from foreign substances, wheth- 






80 AQUA. 

er it is in the form of rain, snow, hail or dew. It is found, how- 
ever, to contain carbonic acid, and a minute portion of muriate of 
Jime, and some other salts. In the neighborhood of large 
towns, it is contaminated by smoke and various volatile substan- 
ces. 2. — Spring water. In siliceous and gravelly soils, this is 
often very pure, though less so than rain water. Springs, accord- 
ing to their qualities, are said to be hard or soft, sweet or brack- 
ish. Hard water derives its quality principally from sulphate 
and carbonate of lime, with some other salts, which it holds in 
solution. It is unfit for washing and various culinary purposes ; 
it coagulates soap, by abstracting the alkali from the oil, and 
does not soften leguminous vegetables. Soft water is free from 
these defects, in consequence of containing less of the saline in- 
gredients. Brackish water has a saltish or unpleasant taste, aris- 
ing, commonly, from muriate of soda, of magnesia, or of lime. 
Springs have this quality in the neighborhood of the sea or of 
salt springs. 3. — Running water. The water of rivers, on ac- 
count of its long exposure and agitation, has less foreign matter 
in solution, but more in suspension, than that of springs and 
wells. Hence, although turbid at first, yet, if suffered to stand 
till its impurities have subsided, it is often sweet and wholesome. 
Some rivers, contaminated with a large portion of animal and 
vegetable exuvise, are, nevertheless, used for all purposes by the 
inhabitants of their banks with impunity. Such are the waters of 
the Thames and the Mississippi. In mountainous countries, the 
streams and torrents are in a state of great purity, being compos- 
ed of melted snow for a great part of the year, 4. — Well wa- 
ter. This resembles spring water in its general qualities, but is 
much more apt to be hard, in consequence of its stagnation and 
slow infiltration. In boggy and alluvial countries it is often too 
impure for use. In populous cities wells are frequently contam- 
inated in consequence of the near vicinity of vaults and drains. 
5. — Stagnant water. Ponds and small lakes with a sandy bot- 
tom are sometimes pure ; but in general the water of ditches, 
bogs and muddy pools, being loaded with decomposing vegetable 
matter, is highly impure. Water, when kept long in casks or 
reservoirs, especially at sea, undergoes certain changes, acquiring 



AQLLE MEDICATE.— AQUA ACIDI CARBONICI. 81 

a ropy consistence, an offensive smell, and evolving carburetted 
hydrogen. A remedy is found in charring the inside of the casks, 
and a still better one, according to Perinet, in adding a little ox- 
ide of manganese to the water, and agitating it once in fifteen 
days. 



AQUjE MEDIC ATM. 

Medicated Waters. 

The above name is given in the American Pharmacopoeia to a 
number of liquid preparations, in which water is strongly impreg- 
nated with carbonic acid, so as to become acidulous and spark- 
ling. Water, exposed to the atmosphere, always imbibes some 
carbonic acid. By the aid of booth's apparatus, it is made to 
take up an additional quantity. But by the mechanical pressure 
of a condensing pump, water can be impregnated with several 
times its volume of this gas, so as to exhibit the distinct, sensible 
and medicinal properties of the acid. An apparatus is now 
manufactured in most of our cities, for pumping carbonic acid, 
disengaged in one vessel, into another which confines the water to 
be impregnated. 



AQUA ACIDI CARBONICI. 

Carbonic Jlcid Water. 

This article is now extensively consumed in all our large cities 
under the names of Soda Water and Seltzer Water, as a grate- 
ful and salubrious' beverage during the hot season. It abates 
thirst, assists digestion, and acts promptly upon the pores and 



82 AQUA POTASS.E SUPERCARBONATA. 

kidnies. It is refreshing to patients with febrile and inflamma- 
tory diseases, and, like effervescing mixtures, counteracts nausea 
and vomiting. That the sprightliness of this water may not be 
impaired by the loss of too much of its acid, it must be kept in 
strong close vessels in a cold place. 



AQUA MAGNESIiE SUPERCARBONATA. 

Supercarbonated Magnesia Water, 

When carbonate of magnesia is diffused in water, and a stream 
of carbonic acid introduced, a portion of the magnesia is dissolv- 
ed, which on spontaneous evaporation forms a crystallized car- 
bonate, or bi-carbonate, soluble in 48 parts of cold water. Su- 
percarbonated magnesia water consists of this salt dissolved in 
water, together with an excess of carbonic acid, giving the liquid 
an acidulous character. It affords a pleasant form of exhibiting 
magnesia, the common effects of which it produces, its carbonic 
acid being separated in the stomach. It may be drunk ad libi- 
tum as a laxative and antilithic. 



AQUA POTASSiE SUPERCARBONATA. 

Supercarbonated Potass Water. 

This preparation was erroneously styled Jlqua potassaz in the 
American Pharmacopoeia, and is now corrected, with the other 
supercarbonated alkaline waters. Potass combines with carbo- 
nic acid in two proportions, both of which produce compounds 
not perfectly neutralized with acid. In the present preparation 
the alkaline character is lost in the excess of acid. The liquid 
is a solution of carbonate of potass with carbonic acid. It is the 
most agreeable form of exhibiting potass, with the efficacy of 



AQUA DISTILLATA. 83 



which the carbonic acid does not at all interfere, being soon eli- 
minated by the digestive organs. Half a pint may be taken at a 
dose* 



AQUA SODJE SUPERCARBONATA. 

Super carbonated Soda Water, 

This resembles the preceding article in its character, but con- 
tains twice the amount of alkali. It is more pleasant to the taste. 
In common with carbonic acid water, it is sold under the name 
of soda water. The former is an acid, the latter an alkaline 
remedy. 



AQUA DISTILLATA. 

Distilled Water, 

As common water contains principles which occasion chemical 
changes in various. saline, acid and alkaline medicines; it is indis- 
pensable that distilled water should be used in forming solutions 
of these, especially where the article dissolved is of great activity 
and employed in a small dose. 



JQUjE DISTILLATM. 

Distilled Waters. 

Waters distilled from aromatic vegetable substances acquire 
the odour and taste of such substances, in consequence of the 



84 ARALIA NUDICAULIS.— ARALIA SPINOSA. 

volatile oil which thej hold in solution and mixture. They are 
not much employed as remedies, but more as pleasant vehicles 
to other medicines. Those directed by the Pharmacopoeia are 
Aqua cinnamoni, Cinnamon water; Aqua menthjE piperita 
Peppermint water; Aqua Mentha viridis, Spearmint water ; 
and Aqua rosarum, Rose water. The three first are pungent 
and carminative, but liable to vary in strength by the separation 
of their oil. Rose water is gently astringent, and used as a col- 
lyrium to the eyes, both alone, and in combination with astrin- 
gent salts. It is best when prepared in the large way, and recti- 
fied by a second distillation. 



ARALIA NUDICAULIS. 

False Sarsaparilla. 

The Jiralia nudicairtis, improperly called in many parts of 
the country Sarsaparilla, grows in the edges of woods, &c. from 
Canada to Carolina. Its root has a strong aromatic taste and 
smell, like that which is found in some other plants, particularly 
in Senecio aureus. It is a mild diaphoretic and stimulant, em- 
ployed in many parts of the country in infusion as a remedy for 
catarrh, rheumatism, and some cutaneous affections. Some other 
species, as Ji. hispida and racemosa t have similar properties. 



ARALIA SPINOSA. 

Angelica Tree. 

The Angelica tree is a native arborescent shrub with a prickly 
stem, belonging to the southern states, but frequently cultivated 
for ornament in gardens as far north as Boston. The name 
prickly ash is often applied to it, which produces a confu- 



ARGENTUM.— ARGENTI NITRAS. 85 

sion among those not conversant in botany, between this tree and 
Xanthoxylum. In Mr. Elliott's Southern Botany we are inform- 
ed, that a watery infusion of the bark of the fresh root is both 
emetic and cathartic, and that the watery extract is decidedly ca- 
thartic. The bark is pungent and heating, and is employed in 
the southern states for rheumatism and cutaneous affections. 



ARGENTUM. 

Silver, 

Silver is found in the mines of various countries, sometimes 
pure, but more frequently combined with other metals, with sul- 
phur, oxygen or acids. It is a brilliant white metal, insipid, 
inodorous and very sonorous. It is not readily oxydized, but 
tarnishes soon, if exposed to contact with sulphur or sulphuretted 
hydrogen. Its specific gravity is 10.47 and its fusing point 28° 
Wedgewood. When pure it has no medicinal action, but in com- 
bination with nitric acid it forms a powerful caustic. See nitrate 
of silver. 



ARGENTI NITRAS. 

Nitrate of Silver. Formerly Lunar Caustic. 

Preparation. In preparing this substance, the acid and wa- 
ter employed should be of the greatest purity, otherwise a part of 
the silver will be lost by precipitation. To prevent loss by ebul- 
lition, a large porcelain crucible should be used, capable of con- 
taining five or six times the amount directed. According to Mr. 
Phillips, a smaller quantity of nitric acid than that directed is suffi- 
cient, since a fiuidounce and a half is capable of dissolving 1023 
grains of silver. 
12 



86 ARGENTI NITRAS. 

Qualities. Fused nitrate of silver is in small cylinders of a 
dark grey colour and crystalline fracture. It has an intensely 
bitter, austere metallic taste, and tinges the skin indelibly black. 
When free from copper it is not deliquescent. It consists of ox- 
ide of silver 7"0, nitric acid 30. It is soluble in an equal weight 
of cold water, and is also dissolved by alcohol. It forms the basis 
of common permanent ink, and of dyes for the hair. 

Uses. Nitrate of silver is one of the most powerful and useful 
caustics. It is more manageable than most other escharotics, 
since it does not deliquesce, and by coagulating the animal sub- 
stance it is not liable to spread beyond the desired extent. It is 
commonly used to destroy chancres, warts, callous edges, stric- 
tures in the urethra, &c. A weak solution forms a good stimu- 
lating application for indolent ulcers. 

Nitrate of silver is given internally as a tonic, astringent and 
alterative. It has been applied with various success to the treat- 
ment of epilepsy, chorea, worms, and angina pectoris. In incipi- 
ent phthisis, leucorrhea, gonorrhea and chronic diarrhcea, it has 
received very decided commendations, both in Europe and this 
country.* It is extremely liable to decomposition, especially by 
muriate of soda, almost always present in the stomach ; so that 
Dr. Ware suggests that its medicinal activity may be really ow- 
ing to muriate of silver. This subject deserves further inquiry, 
for although the muriate is a very insoluble salt, it is not more so 
than calomel. 

Exhibition. It is difficult to fix the highest safe dose of 
nitrate of silver, so much is this liable to be influenced by the 
contents of the stomach. An eighth of a grain may always be 
given, and ten or twelve grains have been given, with impunity. 
It is probable that after a common meal, little effect would be felt 
from a large quantity, since not only the common salts, alkalies, 
and strong acids, but most vegetable juices and common well wa- 
ter decompose it. It is proper to begin with small doses on an 
empty stomach, and gradually increase under the same circum- 
stance, till griping or other inconvenience ensues. It may be 

* See New England Journal, vols, vii. and viii. 



ARMORACIA.— ARNICA. 87 

dissoiveu in pure water and made into pills with bread just be- 
fore it is used. 

Antidote. A solution of common salt will immediately de- 
compose any noxious quantity which may have been swallowed, 
and prevent its further corrosive action. 



ARMORACIA. 

Horse Radish. 

Horse radish is principally used as a condiment with food. Its 
acrimony resides in a volatile oil of a pale yellow colour, heavy, 
having a sweetish and strongly acrid taste. Its medicinal action 
is that of a stimulant and diuretic, exciting vomiting if given in 
large quantities. The leaves, when green, form a common rube- 
facient, but lose part of their activity in drying. To insure their 
full effect, they should be bruised with a roller before being ap- 
plied. 



ARNICA. 

Leopards' Bane. 

The Arnica montana is a plant of the north of Europe and Si- 
beria. The flowers, leaves and roots are bitter and acrid ; the 
former slightly aromatic. They are narcotic, stimulant and dia- 
phoretic, and in large doses emetic and cathartic. On the con- 
tinent of Europe, different parts of this plant have been used in 
rheumatism, gout, chlorosis, intermittent fevers, and particularly 
in paralysis, in which the French appear to consider it an impor- 
tant medicine. In this country it has not been much employed. 
The dose is from five to ten grains. 



88 ARUM.— ASARUM CANADENSE, 

ARUM. 

Dragon Root. 

The Jirum triphyllum is an American plant, growing in damp, 
shady situations, and sometimes called Indian turnip and Wake 
robin. The root is large and fleshy, consisting chiefly of fsecula, 
which it affords, without taste or smell, in the form of a white de- 
licate powder. In its recent state this root, and in fact every 
part of the plant, is violently acrid and almost caustic. Applied 
to the tongue, or to any secreting surface, it produces an effect 
like that of Cayenne pepper, but far more powerful, so as to leave 
a permanent soreness of many hours' continuance. Its action 
does not readily extend through the cuticle, since the bruised 
root may be worn upon the skin till it becomes dry, without oc- 
casioning pain or rubefaction. The acrimony of this plant resides 
in a highly volatile principle, which is driven off by heat, and 
gradually disappears in drying. It is not communicated to wa- 
ter, alcohol nor oil, but may be obtained in the form of an inflamma- 
ble gas or vapour, by boiling the plant under an inverted receiver 
filled with water.* Arum is too violently acrid to be a safe 
medicine in its recent state, though it has sometimes been given 
with impunity. The dried root, while it retains a slight portion 
of acrimony, is sometimes grated in milk and given as a carmina- 
tive and diaphoretic. 



ASARUM CANADENSE. 

Canada Snake Root. 

This plant, called also Wild ginger, grows in woods and on 
mountains throughout the United States. Its affinity to the Asa- 

* See American Medical Botany, vol. i. p. 56. 



ASCLEPIAS SYRIACA. 89 

rum Eiiropmum has led to a supposition that it possesses emetic 
powers. This however is not the case, at least in common doses. 
It has an agreeable aromatic taste, intermediate between that of 
Aristolochia serpentaria and ginger. The root, according to my 
experiments, contains a volatile oil, resin, fcecula and mucus. It 
is used by country practitioners, and occasionally kept in our 
druggists' shops, as a warm diaphoretic and stimulant ; and may 
be given in doses of from one to two scruples in powder, or in 
infusion like that of serpentaria, which medicine it resembles in 
its properties. 



ASCLEPIAS INCARNATA. 

Flesh-coloured Jlsclepias. 

This is a lactescent plant, native of the United States. Its 
taste is bitterish, nauseous and subacrid. According to Dr. Tully 
of Connecticut, it is expectorant, diaphoretic and diuretic, and in 
large doses laxative. It is given in catarrh, asthma, rheuma- 
tism, secondary syphilis and worms. Dose from half a drachm 
to a drachm. 



ASCLEPIAS SYRIACA. 

Common Silk Weed. 

This is a well known native plant, common by road sides, and 
like the former species, exuding a milky juice when broken. It 
has been administered in asthma and catarrh, to the amount of a 
drachm of the powdered root in a day. It is apparently anti- 
spasmodic and expectorant. 



90 ASCLEPIAS TUBEROSA.— ASS AFCETID A. 



ASCLEPIAS TUBEROSA. 

Butterfly Weed, 

This species is found from Maine to Georgia, and is readily 
distinguished from the preceding ones, by its bright orange-colour- 
ed flowers. The root when dry is brittle, and easily reduced to 
powder. Its taste is moderately bitter, and its chief soluble por- 
tions are extractive matter and fsecula. It acts medicinally as a 
mild diaphoretic, expectorant and subtonic. It has been much 
used in the United States in catarrh, bronchitis, the secondary 
stages of pneumonia, and in phthisis as a palliative. From some 
associations of this kind, it is known in many places by the name of 
Pleurisy root. It has the property of producing diaphoresis with 
less previous beat and excitement than attends the use of most ve- 
getable sudorifics. Twenty or thirty grains may be given three 
times a day, or a gill of the infusion, prepared like that of serpen- 
taria. 



ASSAF(ETIDA. 

Jlssafetida. 

Origin, The Ferula assafoetida, from which this drug is ob- 
tained, is an umbelliferous plant growing in the mountainous prov- 
inces of the south of Persia. The root is perennial, and when 
fully grown attains the size of a man's leg. The juice is collect- 
ed by destroying the top of the plant, and covering the root from 
the sun for about forty days. The earth is then removed from 
the top of the root, and a horizontal slice cut away. After forty- 
eight hours the juice which has exuded is scraped off, and another 
transverse section made. This operation is repeated at intervals 
until the juice ceases to flow. The juice is then inspissated in 
the sun, and exported in cases, mats or casks. 



AURANTII CORTEX. 91 

Qualities. It comes in irregular masses of a brownish yellow 
colour, containing whitish or reddish tears within. The good- 
ness of the article is proportionate to the clearness, the num- 
ber of white shining tears, and the strength of the smell. Assa- 
fetida is well known for its powerful and offensive odour, which 
in its concentrated state is universally disgusting. It is, however, 
essentially of the same character with that of garlic and onions, 
and the drug has been used in very small quantities as a condi- 
ment for food. Its chemical composition is that of a gum resin, 
containing about twice as much gummy matter as resin, and. 
about ten per cent, of an highly fetid volatile oil, on which its 
odour depends. Its virtues are preserved by solution in alcohol 
or emulsion with water. Age and exposure impair its strength 
by dissipating its volatile oil. 

Uses. This disgusting medicine has enjoyed a high reputation as 
an antispasmodic, especially in the hysteric paroxysm of females. 
I am disposed to think its powers have been overrated, and have 
rarely found it more speedily efficacious in these cases than a va- 
riety of other medicines. Its action is stimulant, heating, and 
promotive of most of the excretions. Hence it is given with 
some benefit in chlorosis, asthma, and hooping cough, as an em- 
menagogue or expectorant. It is not to be used during great ar- 
terial excitement, and it may in most cases be superseded by 
more palateable medicines. The dose, in substance, is from five 
to twenty grains, but the tincture is a more common mode of ex- 
hibiting it. 



AURANTII CORTEX. 

Orange Peel. 

The orange tree is a native of southern Asia, but is now culti- 
vated in most warm countries. The juice of the fruit is grateful- 
ly sweet and acidulous, and refreshing in febrile disorders. The 
officinal part is the rind, which in its green state is covered with 



92 AURUM.— AURI MURIAS. 

vesicles of a fragrant volatile oil. It has likewise a good deal 
of bitterness, particularly in the unripe or Curracoa oranges. 
Orange peel is tonic and stomachic, and enters into the composi- 
tion of several medicines of this class, particularly the compound 
tinctures of cinchona and gentian. 



AURUM. 

Gold, 

Gold is found native sometimes in veins, sometimes dissemi- 
nated in rocks or ores of other minerals, and sometimes in loose 
grains among the sands of alluvial countries. It is exceedingly 
malleable and ductile, does not alter on exposure to the air, has 
a specific gravity of 19.35, and melts at 32° Wedgewood. Its 
officinal preparation is the muriate of gold ; which see. 



AURI MURIAS. 

Muriate of Gold. 

The preparation which bears this name in the Pharmacopceia 
is a muriate of gold and soda. The presence of the alkali ren- 
ders the muriate of gold less active and less deliquescent than 
when it is pure. The triple muriate, according to M. Figuier, 
ought to be very homogeneous, and during its preparation, when- 
ever a saline pellicle appears upon its surface, it should be remov- 
ed with a glass implement. The drying should be finished in a 
glass or porcelain mortar, in a sand-bath at a moderate heat, the 
salt pulverized as fast as it dries with a pestle of the same mate- 
rial, and the bottle warmed which is to receive it. 

Uses. Gold has been revived in modern practice by Dr. 
Chretien of Montpellier, as a remedy in the various forms of 



AVEN.E FARINA. 93 

syphilis, more effectual and more safe than mercury. He em- 
ployed it with alleged success in chancres, buboes, warts, ulcers ; 
also in gonorrhea, scrofula, schirrus, &c. &c. The subsequent 
reports of M. Cullerier in France, and of different practitioners 
in England and the United States do not justify the sanguine 
expectations at first formed of it. It appears to be capable of 
curing syphilis in some cases, but by no means in all, nor are the 
apparent cures made by it always permanent. In the present 
state of our knowledge, it seems worthy of preservation, as an 
auxiliary to be resorted to in intractable cases, rather than as a 
remedy for common reliance. 

Exhibition. As muriate of gold, according to Dr. Chretien, 
is more powerful than corrosive sublimate, it has been used chief- 
ly in minute quantities. By him it was employed in friction, a 
tenth or fifteenth part of a grain being rubbed on the gums mix- 
ed with starch or charcoal. A like quantity has also been admin- 
istered internally in pills. 



AVEN-flE FARINA. 

Oatmeal. 

Willdenow assigns as the native country of the oat, the island 
of Juan Fernandez on the coast of Chili, where it was found 
growing wild by Lord Anson. It was, however, cultivated in Eu- 
rope from a much earlier period, and was not improbably known 
to the ancients. Oats are cultivated in the United States chiefly 
as provender for horses. The grain, when divested of its husk, 
although small, is salutary and nutritious. The meal cannot be 
made into light or fermented bread, owing to the want of gluten, 
in which respect it differs from wheat and rye. Dissolved in 
boiling water, it forms a light and nutritive aliment for the sick, 
peculiarly useful as part of an antiphlogistic diet. Oatmeal 
gruel is directed by Dr. Cullen to be made by adding an ounce 
of meal to three quarts of water, which is to be placed on the fire 



94 AZEDARACH.— BARYTVE SULPHAS. 

and stirred till it boils. It is then allowed to boil until one third 
of the water is consumed. The liquid is afterwards strained and 
suffered to stand, till, in cooling, a sediment subsides, when the 
clear part is poured off for use. Gruel thus made is far less aces- 
cent and irritating, than the thick, turbid mixtures often prepared 
in haste for the sick. 



AZEDARACH. 

Jlzedamch. 

The Melia azedarach is a flowering tree introduced into the 
southern parts of our country from the eastern continent, and 
commonly called Pride of India. The bark of the root vomits 
and purges, producing some narcotic symptoms if the dose be 
large. It is principally used as an anthelmintic, a decoction be- 
ing made from four ounces of the recent root in a quart of water, 
boiled till it becomes of a dark colour ; and half a fluidounce be- 
ing given every two or three hours till it operates. 



BARYTA SULPHAS. 

Sulphate of Baryta. 

This mineral, called heavy spar, is found in many parts of the 
United States, frequently in lead mines. It is known by its great 
specific gravity, which is nearly 4.5 ; its hardness, which is some- 
what greater than that of crystallized carbonate of lime ; and 
its chemical characters. It decrepitates under the blowpipe, 
gives a greenish tinge to the flame which has passed over it, and 
is converted at last into a white enamel, which in ten or twelve 
hours falls to powder. This enamel, applied to the tongue, pro- 
duces a taste like that of rotten eggs. The mineral is of various 



BARYTiE MURIAS. 95 



colours, but most frequently white. Its varieties are lamellar, 
columnar, radiated, fibrous, granular, compact, &c. It is intro- 
duced into the Pharmacopceia to form the basis of Muriate of ba- 
ryta. 



BARYTA MURIAS. 

Muriate of Baryta. 

Preparation. In the mode directed for preparing this arti- 
cle, the acid of the sulphate is decomposed by the charcoal, car- 
bonic acid is driven off, and sulphur remains united with the 
baryta. The boiling water dissolves this sulphuret, and is itself 
partially decomposed, forming, with the sulphur, sulphuric acid 
and sulphuretted hydrogen, the combination of which with the re- 
maining sulphuret, prevents its further decomposition. Lastly, 
the addition of muriatic acid disengages the sulphuretted hydro- 
gen, precipitates the sulphur, and forms muriate of barytes in 
solution, which crystallizes on evaporation. 

Qualities. This salt has an acrid, nauseous, bitter taste. It 
crystallizes in grouped quadrangular tables, bevelled on the edg- 
es, transparent, white and shining. It is soluble in three parts of 
cold water, and in somewhat more than two of hot water. 

Uses. Muriate of baryta is a highly energetic medicine, pro- 
ducing powerful effects in minute quantities. In very small doses 
it is said to augment perspiration and urine, and to improve the 
tone of the system. In large doses it occasions violent vomiting, 
purging, dizziness and other symptoms of poison, terminating in 
death. By Dr. Crawford, Hufeland, Pinel and others, it has 
been strongly recommended in scrofula, cutaneous diseases, sy- 
philis, &c. while, by Pearson, Alibert and others, it is considered 
as a medicine in which great confidence cannot be placed for the 
cure of any disease. Its good effects are more frequently per- 
ceptible in scrofula than in any other malady to which it has been 
largely applied. 

Exhibition. It is given in the Liquor barytce muriatis$ 
which see. 



96 BELLADONNA. 



LIQUOR BARYTiE MURIATIS. 

Solution of Muriate of Baryta. 

The dose of this solution is five drops twice a day, to be grad- 
ually increased till nausea takes place. 

Antidotes. When muriate of baryta has been swallowed in 
dangerous quantity, the soluble sulphates are recommended by 
Orfila as antidotes, to form a sulphate of baryta in the stomach, 
which is nearly inactive. Common Epsom or Glauber's salt will 
answer the purpose. 



BELLADONNA. 

Deadly Nightshade. 

The Mropa Belladonna is not found native in the United 
States, though it grows wild in corresponding latitudes of Eu- 
rope. A plant, which in many parts of our country is called 
deadly nightshade, is the Solanum dulcamara, a very different 
vegetable. The Atropa Belladonna has bell-shaped flowers of a 
brownish or dusky colour, yellow at base on the inside. The 
berries are of a dark purple colour. The leaves have a nauseous 
subacrid taste, without smell. According to Vauquelin they con- 
tain albumen, some salts of potass, and a bitter principle in which 
their narcotic property apparently resides. A peculiar alkali has 
been announced by M. Brandes, as existing in this plant, and 
which he calls atropia. It is white, shining, crystallizable in 
needles, insipid, little soluble in water or alcohol, and capable of 
neutralizing a considerable quantity of acid to form salts. It is 
highly powerful, and even its vapour is injurious. The whole of 
this plant is poisonous, producing, in large doses, intoxication, 
attended with thirst, nausea, insensibility of the retina, causing a 



BENZOINUM. 97 

dilated pupil, constriction of the throat, coma or delirium, con- 
vulsions, and the other dangerous symptoms of narcotics. In 
fatal cases the stomach and bowels are found inflamed and gan- 
grenous, and the whole body becomes swollen and highly putres- 
cent. Belladonna, in small doses, has been tried in a great va- 
riety of chronic diseases, without obtaining a very durable repu- 
tation in any. It has been occasionally found to allay the pain 
of chronic rheumatism, tic doloureux, and even of cancer. In 
hooping cough it has been commended, but cannot prudently be 
given to children, owing to the difficulty of estimating in them a 
safe dose. Surgeons use an infusion made with two grains to a 
fluidounce, to dilate the pupil previously to the operation for cat- 
aract. When the dried leaves are given internally, the commen- 
cing dose is a grain, to be gradually increased till its effect on 
the stomach and head becomes perceptible, by nausea and 
vertigo. 



BENZOINUM. 

Benzoin, 

The Styrax benzoin, a tree of Sumatra, produces this balsam 
from wounds in the bark made for the purpose of collecting it. 
It is imported into this country in the form of brown or whitish 
masses, brittle, having little taste, but a strong fragrant smell. It 
is composed chiefly of resin and benzoic acid, which latter may 
be separated by volatilization at a moderate heat. Solutions of 
the fixed alkalies, or lime, also separate the benzoic acid, from 
which they may be afterwards recovered by adding a stronger 
acid to the solution. Alcohol is the proper pharmaceutic solvent 
for this balsam. According to Mr. Brande's analysis, 100 parts of 
benzoin afforded 9 parts of benzoic acid, 5.5 of acidulous water, 
60 of abutyraceous empyreumatic oil, 22 of charcoal, and 3.5 of 
carburetted hydrogen and carbonic acid. Benzoin is not much 
used at the present day except for preparing benzoic acid. 



98 BISMUTHUM.— BISMUTHI SUBNITRAS, 



BISMUTHUM. 

Bismuth. 

This metal is white, or slightly yellow, brilliant, foliated with 
broad laminae, pulverizable, and moderately hard. It fuses at 
the low temperature of 476° Fahrenheit, and has a specific grav- 
ity of 9.82. It is found native in various parts of Europe, also 
combined with sulphur and oxygen. In the United States, na- 
tive bismuth has been found in Connecticut. The officinal prepa- 
ration of this metal is the subnitrate ; which see. 



BISMUTHI SUBNITRAS. 

Subnitrate of Bismuth. Formerly White Oxide of Bismuth. 

As a small portion of nitric acid remains combined with the 
oxide of bismuth in this preparation, it is properly called a subni- 
trate. The precipitation, which takes place from the nitric solu- 
tion by adding mere water, is a criterion by which bismuth is 
distinguished from most other metals. Subnitrate of bismuth is 
a fine, soft powder, of a pearly white colour, and nearly destitute 
of taste and smell. It changes to a dark colour on the contact 
of sulphuretted or carburetted hydrogen. 

Uses. Under the name of magistery of bismuth, this sub- 
stance was formerly regarded as noxious to the human system. 
But during the last forty years it has been brought into the prac- 
tice of medicine, and found to be a salutary tonic to the stomach 
and organs of digestion. Its use commenced in Geneva, and it 
has since had the testimony of some of the most distinguished 
physicians in France and England in its favour. It has also in 
this country generally satisfied the expectations formed of it. In 
dyspeptic complaints, especially in patients of a nervous tempera- 



BITUMEN.— CAJUPUTI OLEUM. 99 

ment, it is found a very useful palliative, and sometimes does 
much towards promoting a cure. It is an important medicine in 
the case of persons habitually subject to cramp of the stomach, 
and does more to fortify that organ against the returns of the 
disease than perhaps any of the tonics in common use. In habit- 
ual vomiting or nausea, both from a primary affection of the 
stomach, and from sympathy with other parts, it frequently 
gives great relief. Its tonic eifect appears not to be confined to 
the stomach, since it is found to do good in different spasmodic 
affections, such as palpitations and chorea. Recently it has been 
announced to cure intermittent^. 

Exhibition. A drachm of the bismuth, with an equal quantity 
of liquorice powder, divided into twelve papers, three of which 
are to be taken during the day, will commonly be sufficient to 
display the activity of the medicine. Large quantities taken at 
once are unsafe. 



BITUMEN. 

Bitumen. 

Bitumen, including petroleum or rock oil, naptha, &c. is an in- 
flammable mineral substance, resembling tar and pitch in its dif- 
ferent states of consistence, and in its qualities and appearance. 
It is a stimulating sudorific and diuretic, and is given in rheuma- 
tism and some other maladies in the dose of half a fluidrachm. 



CAJUPUTI OLEUM. 

Cajuput Oil. 

This oil is brought from the Molucca islands, and from some 
other parts of the East Indies. It is there obtained by distillation 



100 CALAMUS.— CALX. 

from the leaves of a small tree, which is stated by Thunberg to 
be the Melaleuca leucadendron, but which, from specimens lately 
sent to England and examined by Dr. Maton and Sir J. E. Smith, 
appears to be a new species, to which they give the name of M. 
cajuputi. The odour of this oil resembles very much that of oil 
of turpentine rendered fragrant by admixture of camphor. When 
brought in copper flasks it has a greenish colour, which it loses on 
being redistilled, and becomes limpid and transparent. Its medi- 
cinal properties resemble those of the more pungent volatile oils, 
being highly stimulant, heating, antispasmodic and diaphoretic. 
It is used in hysteria, spasms of the stomach, and flatulent colic. 
It is a useful embrocation in chronic rheumatism, but cheaper 
substances of the same class do as well. When applied to the 
temples its vapour stimulates the eyes, on which account it has 
been employed in incipient gutta serena. Introduced into a ca- 
rious tooth, it sometimes mitigates pain. Dose internally from 
three to six minims, on sugar. 



CALAMUS. 



Sweet Flag Root 



The Jicorus calamus is found in Europe, Asia, and North 
America. With us it grows in wet meadows, commonly in beds 
or bunches. The root has a strong aromatic odour, and a bitter 
spicy taste. Its properties depend upon a volatile oil, and a 
bitter matter soluble in water. Medicinally considered, it is 
stimulant, heating and tonic ; and is given in flatulent colic, 
cramp of the stomach, &c. in the dose of a scruple and upwards. 



CALX. 

Lime. 

Lime is obtained sufficiently pure for medical use by burning 
any of the mineral or animal carbonates, such as limestone, chalk 



AQUA CALCIS. 101 

and shells. It has a greyish white colour, a warm, acrid, alkaline 
taste, and is soluble in about 750 times its weight of water. Cold 
water is said to dissolve more than hot. When recently burnt, 
it is usually called quicklime. If water is poured upon it, it 
swells, cracks, emits much vapour, and grows hot, the water giving 
out its caloric of fluidity, and combining with the lime to form a 
solid hydrate. After this action has subsided, the lime is said to 
be slaked. Sir Humphrey Davy has shown this earth to be a 
metallic oxide, composed of a metal which he names calcium, and 
oxygen. — Quicklime is not much used in medicine, except as the 
basis of lime water, and in other preparations. 



AQUA CALCIS. 

Lime Water. 

The American formula for making lime water is copied from 
the London, and is the only one which insures a permanently 
saturated solution, the water being kept standing upon the lime. 
The water is directed to be boiled, that it may be free from car- 
bonic acid. 

Qualities. Lime water is without colour and smell, changes 
vegetable blues to green, and has a disagreeable, styptic taste. 
With oils it forms an imperfect soap. If exposed to the air, it 
attracts carbonic acid, successive pellicles of carbonate of lime 
form upon the surface and subside, till by degrees the whole of 
the lime is precipitated. Lime water contains about three quar- 
ters of a grain in a fluidounce. 

Uses. It is much employed to neutralize acidity in the stom- 
ach, and is a common palliative with dyspeptic people. It is 
more useful when a lax state of the bowels exists, than when 
costiveness prevails. In common diarrhcea, both of adults and 
infants, it acts beneficially by its antacid and astringent powers. 
It possesses vermifuge properties, particularly as an injection for 
ascarides. 

14 



102 CALCIS CARBONAS PRJEPARATUS. 

Exhibition. From one to four fluidounces may be given at 
once, either alone, or combined with milk. The acids, sulphur, 
alkaline carbonates, phosphates, borates, tartrates, citrates, &c. 
are chemically incompatible with it. The use of lime water 
should be occasionally omitted for a few days, as its long con- 
tinued use impairs the tone of the stomach. 



CALCIS CARBONAS. 

Carbonate of Lime. 

The soft carbonate of lime, or chalk, is found in many parts of 
Europe in beds containing numerous relics of marine animals. 
It is white or greyish, without taste or smell, adheres slightly to 
the tongue, and effervesces with strong acids. — It is employed as 
an absorbent and antacid, particularly for children, to whom it 
is suited by its insipidity. It is more apt than lime water to 
occasion flatulence, on account of the disengagement of its car- 
bonic acid in the stomach. See the next article. 

The hard carbonates of lime, including all the varieties of 
limestone, are among the most abundant minerals of the globe. 
Granular limestones or marbles occur in numerous localities 
throughout the United States, presenting a great variety in tex- 
ture and colour. Marble is introduced into the Materia Medica, 
as a convenient material to furnish carbonic acid, and muriate of 
lime. 



CALCIS CARBONAS PR^PARATUS. 

Prepared Carbonate of Lime. 

This is chalk reduced to an impalpable powder, for exhibition. 
It is a substitute for the old powders of crab's eyes, oyster shells, 
&c. From ten to forty grains may be taken at a dose. 



LIQUOR CALCIS MURIATIS.—C AMPHORA. 103 



CALCIS PHOSPHAS. 

Phosphate of Lime. 

The impure phosphate of lime, obtained by burning the bones 
of animals, is retained in the list of medicines, chiefly because it 
is an ingredient used in making phosphate of soda. 



LIQUOR CALCIS MURIATIS. 

Solution of Muriate of Lime, 

Muriate of lime, being highly soluble and deliquescent, is most 
conveniently kept for use in the form of solution. This liquid 
is colourless, with an acrid, bitter, disagreeable taste. It is re- 
commended by various medical writers as a remedy in scrofu- 
lous and glandular diseases, in which it has sometimes appeared 
to produce a salutary effect. It is given in doses of from twenty 
to sixty drops three times a day, and gradually increased till it 
offends the stomach. 



CAMPHORA. 

Camphor. 

Origin. Camphor exists in various aromatic vegetables, but 
the only ones known to produce it in sufficient quantities for the 
purposes of commerce, are two trees of eastern Asia, the Laurus 
camphora of China and Japan, and the Bryobalanops camphora 
of Sumatra and Borneo. The former of these is introduced by 



104 CAMPHOR A. 

Michaux, in his North American Sylva, as a tree susceptible of 
cultivation in the southern parts of the United States. Camphor 
is obtained by distillation from the roots and branches of this 
laurel. For this purpose they are cut into chips, and suspended 
in a net within a sort of still, the bottom of which is covered 
with water, and the top fitted with an earthen head containing 
a quantity of straw. The water is kept boiling for a long 
time, at the end of which the camphor is found sublimed and 
adhering to the surface of the straw. When sent to Europe, 
it is of a dark colour, and mixed with many impurities, from 
which it is separated by a second sublimation, in glass vessels, 
being previously mixed with quicklime. — The camphor tree of 
Sumatra has lately been described, and a figure published by 
Mr. Colebrooke in the 12th volume of the Asiatic Researches, 
under the name of Bryobalanops camphora. This tree, when 
young, possesses only an oil resembling camphor in its sensible 
properties ; but as the tree grows older, the oil concretes into 
camphor, occupying cavities in the trunk, a foot or more in length, 
and several inches in thickness. The trees do not all contain 
camphor, and its presence is ascertained by incisions into the 
trunk made with an axe. Some natives, it is said, are so expert as 
to discover the productive trees by rapping on the outside. The 
trunks are cut down, chopped into logs, split, and the camphor 
scraped out. Trees of a good size yield from ten to twenty 
pounds. Various American trees and plants, which yield a vola- 
tile oil, afford also camphor, among which are Laurus sassafras, 
and Jlristolochia serpentaria. 

Qualities. Camphor, when purified, is a white, semi-trans- 
parent substance, somewhat unctuous to the touch and tenacious 
between the teeth. It has a peculiar, fragrant, penetrating odour, 
and a bitter, pungent taste. Its texture is crystalline, and 
though brittle, it is not easily reduced to powder. It is volati- 
lized without melting at common temperatures, and a piece of it 
exposed to the atmosphere in summer time speedily disappears. 
Hence it can only be kept in close-stopped vessels. When 
thrown into glass cabinets, as it often is, to expel insects, it ren- 
ders the glass dim by being sublimed and deposited on its sur- 



CAMPHORA. 105 

face. If heat be suddenly applied, it melts at 260°. If sublim- 
ed in close vessels, it collects in hexagonal crystals at the top. It 
is highly inflammable, and burns till it is quite consumed, while 
floating on the surface of water. It is dissolved by alcohol, 
ether, oils and acids ; and precipitated from such solutions by 
water. Water is capable of dissolving a minute portion. When 
repeatedly distilled with nitric acid, it is converted into campho- 
ric acid. 

Uses. Camphor is a diffusible stimulant, narcotic and dia- 
phoretic. In moderate doses it produces pleasant excitement, 
raises the strength, promotes diaphoresis, quiets irritation, spasm 
and pain, and brings on a tendency to sleep. Large quantities are 
followed by dangerous symptoms, like those of powerful narco- 
tics. In disease it is employed to support the vital powers under 
the prostration of typhoid fevers, in which cases it greatly assists 
the effect of opium, wine or bark. It has been particularly 
commended where a gangrenous tendency exists, as in cynanche 
maligna, confluent small pox, &c. Its tendency to allay spasm 
makes it useful in a variety of convulsive affections. Externally 
applied by friction, it is much employed as a topical anodyne 
in rheumatic pains and a variety of local affections. 

Exhibition. Camphor, at the present day, is not so frequent- 
ly given alone, as in the form of an adjunct, to promote or cor- 
rect the operation of other medicines. Hence it enters into a 
great variety of compositions, both officinal and extemporaneous ; 
principally with opium, calomel, antimony, squills and volatile 
oils. See the Opiated tincture of camphor, Tincture of soap 
and opium, Camphorated soap liniment, &c. When given alone, 
it should be suspended in a good deal of liquid, as in the Cam- 
phor mixture, that it may not occasion pain by remaining at 
the upper orifice of the stomach. A medium quantity for a dose 
is from five to fifteen grains, and it cannot be given safely in lar- 
ger doses than half a drachm. Forty grains have repeatedly been 
known to produce syncope and convulsions. 



1 06 CANELLA.— C ANTH ARIDES. 

CANELLA. 

Canella. 

This bark is brought from the West Indies in thick, flat, or 
rolled pieces, remarkable for their whitish colour, and taste, re- 
sembling that of allspice. Its virtue resides in a thick, heavy, 
yellowish, and very pungent volatile oil, with a little bitter resi- 
nous matter. It is stimulant and heating, and is not much used, 
except in combination, as in the Powder of aloes and canella. 



CANTHARIDES. 

Cantharides. 

Name. The genus Meloe of Linnseus has been repeatedly 
subdivided by entomologists. The section under which the blis- 
tering fly is comprehended having received from Fabricius the 
name of Lytta, the London College have used his name, Lytta 
vesicatoria, for this insect. In France the name Cantharis or 
Cantharide has been applied to a like subdivision, and is sanc- 
tioned by Cuvier in his Regne Jlnimal. As this is the basis of 
the commercial name established in most languages, the reason is 
obvious why it is entitled to preference before one which is as 
yet but partially received. 

Origin. The Cantharis vesicatoria, or Spanish fly, is found 
in all the southern parts of Europe, particularly in Spain and Ita- 
ly, inhabiting the ash, elder, lilac, and some other trees. They 
are imported in the greatest quantities from Sicily and Astracan. 
Many are now brought to the United States by the way of St. 
Petersburgh, in Russia. These insects are of a bright green 
gold colour, and when alive have a fetid smell. They are col- 
lected by shaking them from the branches into a cloth spread be* 



CANTHARIDES. 107 

neath the tree, and afterwards killing them with the fumes of 
vinegar, or of burning sulphur. They are then dried in the sun 
or by a stove, and packed in small chests and casks. They are 
to be distinguished from the melolontha vitis, an insect destitute 
of vesicating properties, which is frequently mixed with them. 
It resembles them in some respects, but is easily known by its 
more square form and black feet. 

Qualities. These flies have a heavy, empyreumatic odour 
and pungent taste. The principle on which their blistering pro- 
perty depends, is of a very soluble nature, being extracted by wa- 
ter, alcohol or oil, and leaving the residue inert. They have been 
analyzed by various chemists with different results. 

The following results were obtained by Thouvenel, who treat- 
ed the entire flies with water, alcohol and ether separately, sub- 
mitting them to the press : 1.— Three eighths of reddish yellow, 
very bitter extractive, affording by distillation an acid liquor. 
& — One tenth of concrete, waxy, green oil, having the odour of 
the flies, and yielding by distillation a very sharp acid, and a thick 
oil. 3. — -One fiftieth of concrete yellow oil, apparently the co- 
louring matter of the insect. 4. — One half of solid, parenchyma- 
tous matter. He imagines that the blistering principle resides in 
the green, waxy oil, and that the strangury produced by blisters 
is the effect of the acid obtained from this oil by distillation. 

According to Beaupoil, an aqueous infusion of the flies, when 
exposed to the air, lets fall a yellow precipitate, exhales an ammo- 
niacal odour, and reddens tincture of turnsole. The addition of 
ether or of alcohol divides it into two parts, viz. a black gluti- 
nous matter, insoluble in alcohol, and a yellowish brown, very so- 
luble matter. The black matter blistered the skin without affect- 
ing the urinary organs ; the yellow matter did not blister when 
applied alone, but blistered quickly when united with wax. A 
green matter, which he also obtained, acted under similar cir- 
cumstances, but less actively. 

Robiquet attempted to obtain the active principle of the flies 
in a separate state, and has procured a substance, to which Dr. 
Thompson gives the name of cantharidin. To obtain it, a 
strong decoction of cantharides is evaporated to the consistence 



108 CANTHARIDES. 

of syrup. This is next boiled with repeated portions of alcohol, 
until all the soluble parts are taken up. The alcoholic solution 
is then evaporated to dryness, and the solid residue agitated in a 
phial with sulphuric ether, for some time. The ether dissolves a 
portion, and upon spontaneous evaporation, deposits it in crys- 
talline, micaceous plates mixed with yellow matter. Alcohol, 
poured upon the mass, will dissolve the latter and leave the for- 
mer, which maybe dried between folds of blotting paper. Can- 
tharidin thus obtained is insoluble in water and cold alcohol, but 
soluble in boiling alcohol, ether, and particularly in oils. It acts 
powerfully as a vesicatory, particularly when dissolved in oil. 

Blistering flies, if kept in close-stopped bottles, preserve their 
activity for a great length of time. Dampness causes them to 
putrefy, and they are often attacked and partially devoured by 
other insects, but without injury to the part which remains. 

Internal use. Cantharides, if we except the prussic acid, 
are the most active substance derived from the animal kingdom, 
which has been introduced into medicine. If given in an im- 
proper dose, they affect not only the urinary system, bringing on 
strangury and bloody urine, but likewise inflame the inner sur- 
face of the alimentary canal, producing intense pain of the stom- 
ach and abdomen, vomiting, purulent stools, and often syncope, 
convulsions and death. These effects, in the human subject, are 
the unfailing consequence of a large dose ; yet it appears that 
other animals are not all equally susceptible of the same poison. 
Certain insects are known to subsist upon them, and we have the 
authority of Professor Pallas, that the hedgehog will devour 
hundreds of them together with impunity. From the readiness 
with which these flies affect the urinary passages, they have been 
resorted to in medical practice, in small doses, as a direct stimu- 
lant to the bladder and organs connected with it. In inconti- 
nence of urine from paralysis of the neck of the bladder, they 
more frequently effect a cure than perhaps any other remedy. 
In dropsy they are found useful diuretics combined with squills 
and calomel. In gleets of long standing they have been found 
serviceable, and in the obstinate disease of leucorrhea they are 
warmly recommended by Dr. Roberton, though others have not 



CANTHARIDES. 109 

found them so uniformly successful. Cantharides may be given 
in substance in the dose of a grain, or in tincture in doses of ten 
or fifteen drops, to be repeated three times a day, and gradually 
increased until relief is produced, or symptoms of strangury or 
pain in the bowels make it necessary to desist. 

External use. Before the introduction of cantharides, va- 
rious acrid substances were employed as local or external stimu- 
lants, particularly the acrid vegetables, such as the Ranunculi 
and Euphorbia?. These were found uncertain in their operation, 
and sometimes produced ill-conditioned ulcers, which were diffi- 
cult to lieal. As soon as the Spanish fly became generally known, 
it superseded all other epispastics, being found certain in its ope- 
ration, and not being followed by permanently injurious conse- 
quences. The ordinary effect of a topical application composed of 
flies is to redden and inflame the skin in the course of from one 
to four hours after its application. A free exudation of serum 
under the cuticle then takes place, which commonly remains fluid, 
but in some subjects coagulates as fast as formed. The discharge 
ceases in a short time after the removal of the flies, and the part 
speedily heals. These effects, however, are subject to variation, 
and the idiosyncracy of some individuals causes blisters to act in 
them with greater rapidity, and to heal with more difficulty. A 
temporary strangury is an effect that not unfrequently follows 
vesication with flies. 

No remedy is adapted to a wider circle of disease than vesica- 
tion. Its great and most extensive use is as a counter stimulant 
in inflammatory and other local determinations of blood ; among 
which there are very few, to which blistering may not be advan- 
tageously applied. In every species of the phlegmasise of Cul- 
len, and in various local complaints unattended with pyrexia, 
blisters are of primary importance. They are serviceable in many 
of the neuroses and cachexise ; and in the low stages of typhoid, 
but not malignant fevers, they often exert a beneficial stimulus. 
The place of their application varies with the nature of the dis- 
ease. In phrenitis and apoplexy, they are applied over the whole 
cranium ; in ophthalmia, to the temples or behind the ears ; in cy- 
nanche, to the throat or chest ; in pneumonia, hemoptysis, and 
15 



110 CANTHARIDES. 

phthisis, to the thorax; in pleurisy and hepatitis, to the affected 
side ; in excessive vomiting, gastritis, and gastrodynia, to the pit 
of the stomach ; in peritonitis, dysentery, puerperal fever, and 
diseases of the pelvic viscera, to the abdomen ; in nephritis and 
diabetes, over the kidneys ; in sciatica, to the hip ; in phlegmasia 
dolens, to the groin and limb; in rheumatism, white swelling, 
&c. to the joints affected. In low typhus, they are applied to the 
head and nape of the neck, sometimes to the extremities. Placed 
on the affected part, they have been found to arrest gangrene, to 
relieve the inflammation which sometimes follows bleeding, and 
to counteract a variety of minor inflammatory actions. 

It is remarkable that blisters are beneficial in diseases of the 
same nature with those which they themselves occasion. Thus 
they relieve strangury proceeding from other causes than their 
own application ; and restrain gangrene in certain cases, while 
they are apt to produce it in malignant fevers, putrid sore throat, 
and confluent small pox. 

The extent and time of blistering must be regulated by the 
disease and circumstances. In chronic affections the discharge 
may be kept up for a considerable time by the ointment of flies, 
or by the savin cerate. In urgent cases a succession of blisters 
is better than a protracted discharge from one, since a perpetual 
blister gradually loses its sensibility, although the discharge con- 
tinues. 

Management. Rubefaction may be at any time excited by 
the Liniment of cantharides, or the Tincture of Cayenne pepper 
and cantharides ; and if either of these preparations be kept from 
evaporating too soon by means of dossils of lint soaked in them, 
or by repeated application, they vesicate quickly and certainly. 
But the most convenient and manageable of all epispastics is a 
plaster spread with the Cerate of cantharides, and confined by 
an adhesive margin. The leather should be cut larger than the 
intended blister, and after being thickly spread with cerate to 
the requisite extent, a margin half an inch in width should be 
covered with adhesive plaster. This last precaution effectually 
prevents the slipping of the blister, which otherwise is apt to de- 
feat or exceed the intentions of the prescriber. When the blis- 



CANTHARIDES. 1 1 1 

ter is drawn, it may be dressed with simple cerate or mutton suet, 
unless a permanent discharge is required, in which case savin 
cerate, or that of red cedar, is to be applied. The denuding of a 
blistered surface by the removal of its loosened cuticle, conside- 
rably retards its healing. On the hairy part of the head the cuticle 
does not ordinarily rise, but may be made to discharge freely 
by keeping the hair wet through with the liniment or tincture 
before-mentioned, and, in urgent cases, by shaving the head and 
applying a plaster over its whole surface. Children are more 
quickly vesicated than adults, and blisters in them, if large or 
long continued, are occasionally followed by ulcerations and even 
by sloughing of the skin. They should therefore be removed as 
soon as they have drawn. When blisters continue painful and 
irritable, the most soothing application which I have employed is 
a potatoe poultice made of the potatoe scraped raw, which retains 
a certain narcotic or sedative property. N 

Strangury is so frequent a consequence of vesication with 
flies, that many expedients have been tried to mitigate or pre- 
vent it. Camphor, applied with the flies, has had the reputation 
of a preventive, but is not wholly to be relied on. Quite lately it 
has been asserted, that ebullition in water deprives the flies of 
their power to affect the urinary organs, without diminishing 
their vesicating property. Having made some experiments on 
this subject, I am apprehensive it will ultimately be found, that 
the powers possessed by cantharides of stimulating the skin and 
urinary organs are proportionate to each other, and that whatev- 
er diminishes the one must impair the other. Flies boiled for 
one minute lose most of their vesicating power, which is imparted, 
in an enfeebled state, to the water. How much it is impaired in 
the solution may be seen in the Unguentum cantharidum, one of 
the weakest stimulants. The best mode of avoiding strangury is 
to dilute freely with flaxseed tea or mucilage of gum arabic du- 
ring the action of the blister, and to remove the plaster as soon 
as any irritation about the bladder is felt. Demulcents, oils and 
opiates will soon remove the symptom after it has occurred. 
The most speedy remedy is an opiate injection as recommended 
by Heberden. 



112 CAPSICUM, 



CAftTHARIDES VITTATiE. 

Potatoe Flies, 

The Cantharis vittata of Olivier, called Lytta vittata by Fa- 
bricius, inhabits the United States and South America. It is 
also given by Pallas among his insects of Siberia. It feeds on 
different plants, but chiefly on the potatoe vine, and is easily 
caught in the morning and towards night. It agrees with the 
Spanish fly in its generic character, but is a smaller insect, hav- 
ing its elytra or wing cases black with a yellow stripe and mar- 
gin, its head reddish-yellow, and its abdomen and legs black. 
This fly is found by abundant experience to possess all the vesi- 
cating powers of the European cantharis, and to exert the same 
effect when internally administered upon the bladder and ure- 
thra. The potatoe fly might well supersede the Spanish, were it 
not that its visits in different years vary greatly as to certainty 
and numbers. It is probable that many insects of the coleopte- 
rous class possess vesicating powers. Recently a fly possessing 
this quality was sent from the country to a physician in Boston. 
It proved to be the Melee proscarabwus of Linnaeus. The dis- 
covery of the epispastic property in any native insect is an ob- 
ject of interest. But that such insects may become extensively 
useful, they must be abundant and easy of collection. 



CAPSICUM. 

Cayenne Pepper. 

Cayenne pepper is more known as a condiment than a medi- 
cine. The Capsicum annuum is a native of the Indies, but on 
account of the short time required for its growth, is easily cultiva- 
ted in our gardens. Common Cayenne pepper is a mixture of 
the pods of several species. 



CARBO LIGNI. 113 

Qualities. This article is well known for its excessively- 
pungent and biting acrimony, exceeding that of any other article 
used with food. The principle on which its pungency depends 
is soluble in both water and alcohol, and is not dissipated by boil- 
ing. Its solutions are disturbed by various re-agents, which, how- 
ever, are of no consequence in practical use. It is found to con- 
tain cinchonin, resin, mucilage, and an acrid principle, said to be 
alkaline. It is sometimes adulterated with red lead, to increase 
its weight. 

Uses. Capsicum is a warm, powerful stimulant, promoting di- 
gestion and obviating flatulence. Its abuse, however, undoubted- 
ly produces visceral obstructions, and an inflammatory predispo- 
sition in the system. It is never of service to the healthy. In 
disease it is administered to stimulate the stomach, when in a 
torpid state, and to excite the nerves of the paralytic and le- 
thargic. In the West Indies it has been employed both exter- 
nally and internally in ulcerated sore throat. It is applied as a 
gargle in this disease and in paralysis of the tongue. Its chief 
use, however, is as a rubefacient to the skin, upon which it acts 
with great power. 

Exhibition. The dose internally is from five to ten grains. 
The rubefacient cataplasm is made of meal and vinegar heated, 
and its surface covered with pulverized capsicum. 



CARBO LIGNI. 

Charcoal. 

Charcoal is the carbonaceous part of vegetable substances ob- 
tained by exposing them to ignition till the volatile parts are 
dissipated, and excluding the air sufficiently to prevent their en- 
tire combustion. For medical use common charcoal may be ren- 
dered more pure by filling with it a crucible having a pierced 
cover, and keeping it red hot as long as a blue flame issues from 



114 CARDAMOMUM. 

the hole in the cover. It is then to be cooled in a dry place and 
kept in a close-stopped bottle. 

Qualities. Pure charcoal is insoluble in water, and absorbs 
air and moisture from the atmosphere when newly prepared, un- 
til its pores are filled, which were emptied by the heat. When 
excluded from the air, it is one of the most refractory substances 
known under the influence of high temperatures. It consists 
almost wholly of carbon, having only a small percentage of for- 
eign substances. 

Uses. Charcoal is a powerful antiseptic, and corrects the 
fetor of putrescent animal and vegetable substances. It is 
used to purify various liquids, particularly oils, mucilages, vin- 
egar, and impure water, by filtering them through it. Having 
the peculiar property of counteracting offensive odours, it is ad- 
vantageously employed in poultices as an application to offensive 
and ill-conditioned ulcers. It is particularly useful thus applied 
in gangrene. It acts as an absorbent and preventer of fermenta- 
tion in the stomach and bowels, and corrects fetor of the de- 
jections, and, in some cases, of the breath. Dr. Chapman informs 
us, that a table spoonful taken twice a day is gently laxative. It 
has furthermore been represented as an efficacious auxiliary in 
the treatment of dysentery ; and a Sicilian physician asserts that 
it cures intermittents. 

Exhibition. It is only given in fine powder in some suitable 
vehicle. Dose from a scruple to a drachm. Pulverized charcoal 
is a common and very effectual dentifrice. Its grittiness, howev- 
er, wears out the teeth, a consequence which might be inferred 
from the fact, that engravers use it to polish and grind down the 
surface of their plates. 



CARDAMOMUM. 

Cardamom. 

The plant from which cardamom seeds are procured is a native 
of India. It is the Jlmomum repens of Willdenow, but has been 
separated by Maton, who, in the 10th volume of the Linnsean 



CAROTA.— CARTHAMUS. 1 1 5 

Transactions, has made it a new genus by the name of Elettaria. 
The seeds come to us enclosed in their trilocular capsules, which 
they occupy in three rows. They have a penetrating and highly 
aromatic taste and smell, which resides wholly in a volatile oil. 
Medicinally viewed, they are warm stimulants and diaphoretics. 
Their chief use, however, is in pharmacy, to communicate a pun- 
gent and agreeable quality to various compound medicines. 
The husks or capsules are destitute of the aromatic property. 



CAROTA. 

Carrot. 

The common carrot, when found wild, has a stronger odour and 
taste than when cultivated. Its seeds contain a pungent, volatile 
oil, and are considerably diuretic. The cultivated root, when 
boiled and reduced to a pulp, forms a mildly stimulating poultice, 
and has often an excellent effect in changing the condition of in- 
dolent ulcers. 



CARTHAMUS. 

Dyers' Saffron. 

This drug remarkably illustrates the facility with which one ar- 
ticle becomes substituted for another, when English names are 
used instead of technical appellations. The Carthamus cultivat- 
ed here under the name of saffron, has in many of our cities taken 
the place of the crocus or true saffron, and is sold as such by 
many of our druggists. As the plants are not very different in 
the amount of their activity, no danger results from the change. 
Carthamus is moderately bitter and aromatic. Its effects are 
diaphoretic, and in large doses laxative. It is much consumed as 



1 1 6 C ARUM.— CARYOPHYLLI. 

a popular remedy in measles and other exanthemata, to promote 
diaphoresis, and keep out the eruption. An infusion of two or 
three drachms in a pint of water is taken in a day. Carthamus 
is the basis of common rouge, and affords also a yellow colour- 
ing matter. 



CARUM. 

Caraway. 

Caraway seeds are produced by the Carum carui, a biennial, 
umbelliferous plant, common in gardens. They are aromatic 
and carminative, and are employed to remove flatulence, and to 
communicate a pleasant flavour to other medicines. Their vir- 
tue depends on an essential oil. 



CARYOPHYLLI. 

Cloves. 

Origin. The Eugenia caryophyllata, or clove tree, is a na- 
tive of the Molucca Islands. The Dutch formerly attempted to 
destroy all the trees except those on two or three islands, with a 
view of monopolizing the sales and enhancing the price. It is 
however now cultivated at the Isle of France, in Cayenne and in 
Dominica. The cloves are the unexpanded flower buds ; and it is 
remarkable that although these are the most aromatic part of the 
tree, yet they lose their aroma when they are fully expanded into 
flowers. They begin to be produced when the trees are six years 
old. 

Qualities. Good cloves have a strong, pungent, aromatic 
odour, and a hot, spicy, durable taste. They are of a blackish 
colour, about half an inch in length, and exude a little oil when 
pressed. The best variety of Amboyna cloves are somewhat 



CiRYOPHYLLORUM OLEUM.— CASCARILLA. 117 

smaller and darker than the rest. Cloves are imported in chests ; 
the inferior kinds in bags. They are often adulterated by ad- 
mixture of ,a certain portion, from which the oil has been ex- 
tracted by distillation. Their properties depend chiefly on the oil 
and upon an acrid resin. 

Uses. Cloves are used extensively as a spice with food. In 
medicine they form an agreeable stimulant, and a corrective to 
other articles, especially cathartics. 



CARYOPHYLLORUM OLEUM. 

Oil of Cloves. 

The volatile oil obtained from cloves by distillation is heavy, 
and nearly colourless, but becomes yellow by age. It has, in a 
high degree, the aroma of the clove, but is less acrid. The oil 
prepared by the Dutch is more acrimonious, owing, it is supposed, 
to a solution of some of the resin. Oil of cloves enters into va- 
rious compound medicines, and is sometimes given alone to 
stimulate the stomach, in doses of two or three minims. It is 
likewise applied locally to carious teeth. Various plants of dif- 
ferent botanical habit, have an odour resembling that of the clove, 
among which are species of Dianthas, Cheiranthus, Canella, &c. 



CASCARILLA. 

Cascarilla. 

This bark is the product of the Croton eleutheria, a West 
Indian tree, called Cluytia eleuieria by Linnaeus. It is chiefly 
imported from the Bahama Islands, in the form of small, brittle, 
quilled pieces, covered with a whitish cuticle. Its odour is strong 
and spicy ; its taste at first pungent, but afterwards intensely 
16 



118 CASSIA FISTULA. 

and permanently bitter. These properties reside in a resin, a 
volatile oil and a bitter extract. In burning it gives out an 
odour resembling musk. Cascarilla is one of the best aromatic 
tonics, being more grateful than cinchona, and frequently conjoin- 
ed with it in diseases of debility. From a quarter to half a 
drachm constitutes a dose. The preparations, in which heat is 
employed, lose the aroma of the bark, but retain the bitterness* 



CASSIA FISTULA, 
Purging Cassia. 

Origin. This species of Cassia is a tree found native in India 
and Egypt. It is cultivated in the West Indies, but the fruit 
raised there is said to be of an inferior quality. The fruit of the 
cassia tree is a loment or articulated pod of a cylindrical form, 
nearly an inch thick, and from a foot to two feet in length, having 
two longitudinal furrows on one side, and one on the other, and 
divided into numerous transverse cells, each containing one oval 
seed imbedded in a black pulp. The pods are said to undergo a 
kind of fermentation, to prepare them for keeping. The best 
specimens are those which are heaviest, and in which the seeds 
do not rattle on being shaken. 

Qualities. Cassia pulp, or the part in which the seeds are 
imbedded, has a sweet, clammy and rather sickly taste. It has 
been analyzed by Vauquelin, according to whom it contains su- 
gar, gelatin, gluten, mucus, and a small portion of resin, extrac- 
tive, and colouring matter. Water is its most perfect solvent. 

Uses and Exhibition. This pulp, in the dose of an ounce, 
proves laxative to the bowels, not however without flatulence and 
griping. Its operation is analogous to that of many other of the 
sweet fruits, and Dr. Cullen states, that common prunes will do 
quite as well. It is not much used, except in some old com- 
pounds, such as Confection of senna, &c. 



CASTANEA.— CASTOREUM. 1 1 9 



CASSIA MARILANDICA. 

American Senna. 

This is a tall plant with yellow flowers, growing in most parts 
of the United States. Its botanical affinity to the Cassia senna, 
probably first led to a suspicion of its cathartic powers. Its 
leaves abound with resin, and have also some extractive and 
volatile matter. An ounce of the dried leaves, infused in water, 
proves cathartic, and the plant, being easy of acquisition, is not 
unfrequently used for this purpose by country practitioners. 



CASTANEA. 

Chinquapin. 

The Castanea pumila, called chinquapin and dwarf chesnut, 
grows in the middle and southern parts of the United States. Its 
bark is astringent and tonic, and has been used with success in 
mtermittents. 



CASTOREUM. 

Castor. 

Origin. The common beaver of America and Europe has 
four oblong follicles or bags situated externally between the 
anus and genitals, the two uppermost of which contain a fatty 
substance, while the two larger are filled with an oily, viscid, 
strong smelling substance, which is the officinal castor. The 
follicles are usually dried in the sun or the smoke until the castor 
becomes nearly or quite solid. 



120 CATECHU. 

Qualities. Genuine castor has a strong, penetrating smell, 
and a nauseous, bitter, acrid taste. According to Bouillon La 
Grange, castor contains carbonates of potass, lime and ammonia, 
iron, resin, a mucilaginous extractive matter, and volatile oil. 
The American castor is said by Laugier to contain benzoic acid. 

Uses. This drug is administered as an emmenagogue, as an 
antispasmodic to hysteric females, and in a few other cases ; 
but its unpleasant taste, and the mediocrity of its powers, are 
sufficient reasons for preferring more efficacious articles. The 
dose is a scruple or somewhat less. 



CATECHU 

Catechu, 

Origin. Formerly the name of Terra Japonica was applied 
to this drug, on the supposition that it came from Japan. It is ob- 
tained from a tree in the mountains of Hindostan, belonging to 
the genus Mimosa of Linnaeus and Jlcacia of Willdenow. It is 
an extract made from the interior or heart-wood of the trunk, by 
cutting it into chips, boiling it in water, and evaporating the de- 
coction to dryness. 

Qualities. Two varieties of catechu are brought from Bengal 
and Bombay — the pale, which is in square cakes of a pale, brown- 
ish colour, brittle, bitterish and astringent ; and the dark, which 
has a deep chocolate colour, rusty on the outside, its fracture 
resinous and shining, more austere than the pale, but in other re- 
spects agreeing with it. Catechu is almost wholly soluble in wa- 
ter or spirit. It is composed, according to Sir H. Davy, of tannin, 
gallic acid, extractive, mucilage, and earthy impurities. 

Uses. This is one of the strongest vegetable astringents, be- 
ing simply and purely such. It is employed in discharges of 
the passive kind, or those unattended with much increased vascular 
action, or the presence of an irritating cause ; whether of the 
bowels, uterus or urethra. It must be confessed, however, that 



CERA. 121 

diseases requiring the use of internal astringents are less nume- 
rous, than they were formerly supposed to be. It is a good local 
application to the mouth in sponginess of the gums and aphthee, 
and is found particularly efficacious in a relaxed state of the 
uvula, a piece of it being suffered to dissolve slowly on the 
tongue. From a scruple to a drachm forms a close. 



CERA. 

Wax* 

The yellow ivax used in pharmacy is the honey-comb of the bee 
thoroughly drained and washed, and afterwards cast into cakes. 
From the laborious experiments of Huber, we learn that wax is a 
product of the bees themselves, and not collected by them from 
the pollen of flowers, as was formerly supposed. Vegetable wax, 
particularly that produced by the Myrica cerifera, or wax myrtle 
of the United States, differs considerably in its qualities from 
that prepared by the bees. (See American Medical Botany, 
Vol. III.) Beeswax melts at 142°, dissolves in boiling alcohol s 
ether, fixed oils and alkaline solutions. It is insoluble in water 
and cold alcohol. Wax is used in pharmacy as an ingredient in 
cerates, ointments and plasters. 

White wax is the same substance deprived of its colouring 
matter by bleaching. To effect this, the melted wax is suffered 
to run through holes in the bottom of a vessel, upon the surface of 
a cylinder, which is kept revolving in water ; by which means the 
wax is spread out and cooled in the form of thin laminae or rib- 
bands. It is then exposed to the light and air upon frames, and 
occasionally wet till the bleaching is completed. It is sold in 
the form of thin circular plates. White wax is somewhat less 
fusible than yellow, requiring a heat of 155°. It is a compound 
of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in unknown proportions. It is 
sometimes adulterated with white lead to increase its weight, 
and sometimes by tallow. The lead may be detected by melting 



122 -CERATA. 

the wax on the surface of water, when the lead will sink to the 
bottom of the vessel. Tallow may be suspected by the smelL 
and want of translucency. White wax is used in cerates, &c. 
and has been given internally in dysentery, made into an emul- 
sion, with mucilage. 



CERATA. 

Cerates. 



Cerates derive their name from the wax which enters into their 
composition. They are of an intermediate consistence between 
ointments and plasters, and can be spread for external application 
without the assistance of heat. 

Ceratum Arsenici. Cerate of Arsenic — This cerate is 
stimulating and slightly escharotic. It is applied as a dressing 
to cancers. It is considerably weaker than the ointments of Jus- 
tamond and Arnemann, which were found useful in correcting 
the fieetor and ameliorating the condition of cancerous and ill- 
conditioned ulcers. It should be spread thin on linen, and 
removed if it occasions any constitutional symptoms. 

Ceratum Cantharidum. Cerate of Cantharides, Blister- 
ing Cerate. — This combination of flies with adhesive materials 
forms a speedy and effectual blistering application, the activity 
bf which has been proved by large experience. It resembles the 
JEmplastrum meloes vesicatorii of the Edinburgh College, except 
that it contains a greater proportion of flies, and is prepared 
with oil instead of suet. See remarks on the management of 
blisters under the head of Cantharides. 

Ceratum Juniperi Virginians. Cerate of Red Cedar. — 
This was first introduced on the supposition that the red cedar 
was identical with the savin. Being found to answer the same 



CERATA. 123 

purposes as the savin cerate, in keeping up the discharge of blis- 
ters intended to be perpetual, it is retained in the shops. If ap- 
plied two or three times during the day, it keeps up a purulent 
discharge, without the inconvenience of strangury, which results 
from the continued use of flies. At each application the skin 
should be cleansed from a white coating that results from the 
previous discharge. 

Ceratum Plumbi Subacetatis LiquiDi. Cerate with Sub- 
acetate of Lead. — Under the name of Goulard's cerate t this 
preparation has possessed much popularity as a sedative, cooling 
and desiccative application in burns and scalds, cutaneous 
eruptions, and ophthalmia tarsi of old people. The London 
name, Ceratum plumbi compositum, is more convenient. 

Ceratum Plumbi Subcarbonatis Compositum. Cerate of 
Subcarbonate of Lead. — Applicable to the same cases as the 
foregoing. 

Ceratum Resinosum. Resin Cerate. — This is the Unguen- 
tum resinosum of the Edinburgh College, which, under the name 
of basilicum, has been long used as a mild stimulant and cleans- 
ing application for indolent ulcers. 

Ceratum Resinosum Compositum. Compound Resin 
Cerate. — Under the name of " Deshler's salve," this article has 
acquired popularity in some parts of the United States. It 
nearly resembles the preceding. 

Ceratum Sabinje. Savin Cerate. — The use of this cerate is 
to maintain a purulent* discharge from blisters, without incurring 
the risk of strangury. It is much used for this purpose in 
England, while the Cerate of red cedar is more employed in the 
United States. See Cantharides. 

Ceratum Saponis. Soap Cerate. — The efficacy of this ce- 
rate, say Mr. Thompson and Dr. Paris, depends on the acetate 



124 CEREVISLE FERMENTUM. 

of lead, which is formed in the first stage of the process. It has 
been properly observed, however, that the acetate of lead, thus 
formed, must be again decomposed by the soda of the soap, so 
that the lead exists either in the state of an oxide or a carbonate. 
This cerate was much employed and recommended by Mr. Pott. 
It was originally introduced as a dressing for the surface over 
fractured bones. Its action is sedative and cooling, at the same 
time that it affords some mechanical support. 

Ceratum Simplex. Simple Cerate. — This is a mild, sheath- 
ing application for excoriated and irritable surfaces. 

Ceratum Zinci Carbonatis impuri. Cerate of impure 
Carbonate of Zinc. — The old Turner's cerate, on which this 
is founded, is a popular astringent for excoriated and oozing 
surfaces, sore nipples, &c. 



CEREVISI^ FERMENTUM. 

Feast. 

Beer, and some other vegetable liquids, afford yeast during 
their fermentation. On account of its property, when fresh, of 
yielding carbonic acid in considerable quantities for some time, 
yeast is used to render bread light and friable. Its power of excit- 
ing fermentation depends on a thick substance, like gluten, 
which may be separated by filtration. Yeast is antiseptic, and 
has a powerful effect in correcting the fcetor of foul and gangre- 
nous ulcers, when applied as an ingredient in poultices. It has 
also been given internally in low fevers, attended with offensive 
dejections. 



CHENOPODIUM.— CIMICIFUGA. 125 



CHEXOPODIUM. 

JFormseed. 

The Chetwpodium anthelminticum is a native plant, found in 
the middle and southern states, usually known by the names of 
icormseed and Jerusalem oak. The name wormseed is applied 
in Europe to the Artemisia santonica, a very different plant. 
The chenopodium is accounted a good vermifuge, especially in 
the lumbrici of children. The expressed juice of the whole plant 
is sometimes given in the dose of a table spoonful to a child two 
or three years old. More frequently the powdered seeds are 
employed, mixed with treacle or syrup. The seeds yield a vol- 
atile oil on distillation, which is prescribed in doses of six or 
eight drops in sugar or some suitable vehicle. 



CIMICIFUGA. 

Black Snake Hoot, 

This is the root of Acta?a racemosa of Willdenow, an Ameri- 
can plant. According to the late Dr. Barton, a decoction of it 
forms a useful astringent gargle in sore throats, and also cures 
psora. We are told that the Indians made great use of it in 
rheumatism ; also as an agent adpartum accelerandum. Dr. Tul- 
ly acquaints me, that he has found it diaphoretic, diuretic and 
moderately tcnic, forming a useful auxiliary in the treatment of 
acute and chronic rheumatism, and of dropsy; likewise operating 
very beneficially in hysteria. It is usually given in the form of 
decoction. 



17 



126 CINCHONA. 



CINCHONA. 

Peruvian Bark. 

Although but three species of Peruvian bark are commonly re- 
cognized by name in the shops, it is obvious to an attentive obser- 
ver, that these three kinds are not constant in their character, and 
that many different varieties find their way into our markets. 
Vauquelin, in his analysis of Peruvian bark, examined seventeen 
different varieties ; * and the number of species of the genus cin- 
chona known to botanists is already more than twenty, of which 
three quarters are natives of South America. A certain general 
resemblance pervades the whole ; yet these barks are distinguish- 
able from each other both by their sensible and chemical charac- 
ters. As the kinds which originally enjoyed the greatest cele- 
brity shall become scarce, it is not improbable that they will by 
degrees be superseded by others of more easy acquisition. 

The cause of the first introduction of the chinchona into medi- 
cal use is a subject of uncertainty. Some stories are related of 
the original discovery of its virtues, which partake of the fabu- 
lous, t It was selected early by the Jesuits from among the me- 

* 1. — Quinquina jaune. 2. — Quinquina de Santa Fe. 3. — Quinquina 
gris dit superieur. 4. — Quinquina gris canelle. 5. — Quinquina rouge 
appelle dans commerce Q. pitton. 6. — Quinquina gris. 7. — Quinqui- 
na gris plat. 8. — Cinchona pubescens. 9. — Cinchona officinalis. 10. 
— Cinchona magnifolia. 11. — Quinquina pitton vrai. 12. — Quinquina de 
Loxa. 13. — Quinquina blanc de Santa Fe. 14. — Quinquina orange de 
Santa Fe. 15. — Quinquina ordinaire de Perou. 16. — Quinquina rouge de 
Santa Fe. 17. — Quinquina jaune de Cuenca. — Annales de Chimie^ 
lome 59. 

t An Indian is said to have been cured of a fever by drinking water out 
of a pool, into which a tree of the cinchona had fallen. Other accounts 
state that sick animals were cured by drinking the same weak infusion, 
and thus furnished the first hint to mankind of the virtues of the tree. 
One of the earliest patients, on whom the bark was successfully tried, 
was the Countess del Cinchon, wife of the viceroy of Peru, whose name 
has since been given to the tree. 



CINCHONA. 127 

dicinal plants of South America, as an article of commerce most 
likely to reward the exertions, with which they afterwards pushed 
its introduction in the various countries of Europe. It is remark- 
able that, notwithstanding the demand which has ever since ex- 
isted for this bark among Europeans, it enjoys but little medici- 
nal reputation among the inhabitants of the places where it grows. 
Baron Humboldt informs us, that intermittent fevers are extreme- 
ly prevalent in the vallies of Catamayo,Rio Calvas and Macara; 
yet the native inhabitants of these regions, as well as those of 
Loxa, cannot be persuaded to take the cinchona ; but cure them- 
selves with an infusion of Scoparia dulcis, strong coffee, lemon 
peel, &c. 

As early as 1 642, medical works began to be published rela- 
tive to the febrifuge powers of the Peruvian bark. The tree 
which produces it was not described until 1738, when the French 
geometrician La Condamine, who was sent into South America 
to measure some degrees of the meridian of Quito, availed him- 
self of the opportunity afforded him to gain a knowledge of the 
tree, and to form a description, which he published in the Me- 
moirs of the Academy of Sciences. 

For some time the cinchona was supposed to be confined to 
Peru. It has since been found in New Grenada, and other parts 
of the continent of South America. Although the botanical cha- 
racters of the species and varieties have been examined with great 
industry by Mutis, by Ruiz, Pavon and Tafalla, and lastly by 
Humboldt and Bonpland ; yet a good deal of obscurity still pre- 
vails in regard to the species, which produce the different sorts of 
bark most known in commerce. It appears from Humboldt, that 
the trees are subject to vary so much in their leaves, that the re- 
cognition of species is somewhat difficult. In the splendid work 
of this scientific traveller, the Nova Genera et Species, M. 
Kunth, the learned editor, is said to have kept back a number of 
cinchonas from uncertainty whether they should be considered 
new species, or varieties of old ones. Humboldt has given the 
name of Cinchona Condaminea to the tree, which produces the 
finest quilled bark, and which is the species originally described 
by Condamine, and afterwards included by Linnseus in his C. of* 



128 CINCHONA. 

jicinalis. The C. lancifolia of Mutis, which is not very different 
from this, is supposed by Dr. Duncan, Dr. Powell, and others, 
to produce the common pale bark; others suppose it to produce 
the yellow. Red bark is said to come from the C. oblongifolia, 
while C. cordifulia yields one of the remaining varieties most 
common in commerce. 

The pale bark, as it is known at the present day in commerce, 
is of two kinds — the quilled, which comes from Loxa, and the 
flat, which comes from Guanaco. The bark brought from 
Loxa consists of thin, singly or doubly rolled pieces four or five 
inches long, and scarcely a line in thickness ; externally more or 
less rough, of a greyish colour, and partly covered with lichens ; 
internally of a cinnamon colour. Its fracture is short and not 
fibrous, and its taste bitter and astringent. — The bark which is 
from Guanaco consists of much thicker, coarser and flatter pieces ; 
externally of a dark brown colour, and internally of a cinnamon 
colour. Its fracture, smell and taste are like the Loxa bark. 

The red bark comes in larger pieces, obviously obtained from 
trunks and branches much larger than the preceding. The pieces 
are thick and flat, though sometimes rolled. It is heavy and 
firm, and breaks with a short fracture. Its outer surface is rough, 
the interior compact and resinous, and the inmost portion fibrous, 
and of a brighter red than in the other species. Its powder is 
compared to that of Armenian bole. 

The yellow bark comes also in large, thick pieces, flattish or 
partially rolled. Its outside is covered with the old cortical lay- 
ers, in a rough, broken state, sometimes to nearly half its thickness. 
Many of the pieces, however, are deprived of this covering. Its 
internal colour is reddish orange, or cinnamon, and its fracture 
fibrous. Its taste is more bitter than that of any of the other va- 
rieties. The superior reputation of the yellow bark causes it to 
exceed the other sorts in price. 

Choice of bark. As the sorts of cinchona described under 
the above names in European dispensatories are not always to be 
met with in the druggists' stores in the United States, at least 
under their proper names ; it is important to know the kinds 
which, at this present period, actually predominate in our mar- 






CINCHONA. 129 

kets. The most common is a hard, woody bark, brought principally 
from Carraccas and the neighboring parts, and sold by our apothe- 
caries under the name of yellow bark; but better known in com- 
merce by the name of Carthagena bark. It is in solid, smooth 
or splintery pieces, of a yellowish colour, very woody and fibrous 
in its texture, and greatly inferior to the rest both in bitterness 
and astringency. Being sold at a much lower rate than the sorts 
which are brought round Cape Horn, it is largely purchased by 
dealers, and probably constitutes three quarters of the bark now 
consumed in the United States. * 2. — A small quilled bark is 
kept by our best druggists, and sold at a higher price than the 
preceding. This is one of the most valuable species, and is pro- 
bably the true pale or quilled bark of Loxa, already described. 
3. — A thick reddish bark, with a fibrous fracture and an intense- 
ly bitter taste, covered with a rough external coat, which however 
is sometimes removed. This is sold at a very high price under 
the name of red bark. It appears to me, however, to be a va- 
riety of the genuine yellow bark of European authors. "When 
properly prepared, it is the most powerful of the species. Before 
being pulverized, this bark should be deprived of its rough exter- 
nal coat, sometimes constituting half its thickness, which is er- 
roneously styled in most books the epidermis, but consists in 
reality of the old cortical layers, which, being pushed outward by 
the growth of new bark within them, become effete, juiceless and 
inert, and only serve to reduce the strength of the live bark, when 
mixed with it. In point of medical efficacy, this species is the 
best now met with in our druggists' stores. The quilled bark is 
next to it in strength, and is even equal when the former is not 

* Since the above was written, I observe by the last edition of Profes- 
sor Chapman's treatise on Therapeutics, that the prevalence of Carthage- 
na bark over the Peruvian has been noticed in Philadelphia. Whether 
this bark is the product of any species of cinchona, or of some other genus 
of trees, it is difficult to determine. It has by some been assigned to the 
Cinchona micrantha, but the late French Journals announce the Port- 
landia hexandra as the source of Carthagena bark. The large size of 
the pieces, however, is somewhat against the latter supposition, in regard 
to the Carthagena bark of our markets. 



1 30 CINCHONA. 

deprived of its old cortical layers. In selecting bark, those spe- 
cimens should be rejected, which have contracted any moisture, 
musriness or mould, or which bear evidence of having been im- 
mersed in a fluid to increase their bitterness. 

Chemical analysis. No vegetable substance has been more 
laboriously examined by chemists than the Peruvian bark. On 
account partly of the different species employed by them, their re- 
sults do not coincide, nor lead to any very exact conclusions as to 
the general constituents of these barks. Vauquelin formed four 
different chemical classes from among the barks which he examin- 
ed, according to the action produced on them by vegetable as- 
tringents and gelatin. The first class precipitate astringents, but 
not gelatin ; the second precipitate gelatin, but not astringents ; 
the third precipitate both ; and the fourth neither astringents nor 
gelatin. A variety of proximate vegetable principles have been 
detected in the different cinchonas, such as resin, tannin, extrac- 
tive, gluten, gum, starch, and a minute portion of volatile oil. A 
peculiar substance is precipitated from the infusion of cinchona 
by an infusion of galls. This was first noticed by Dr. Maton. 
Afterwards it was supposed by Seguin to be gelatin, and it was 
proposed to substitute animal glue for bark in. the cure of fevers. 
Dr. Duncan, however, demonstrated that it was a distinct princi- 
ple, and gave it the name of cinchonin. Some salts, with a base 
of lime and of ammonia, are also found in different barks, one of 
which, in the yellow bark, is a compound of lime with a peculiar 
vegetable acid, to which Vauquelin gives the name of kinic, and 
Duncan of cinchonic acid. Lastly, as if the Peruvian bark was 
to furnish a mine of new substances, Pelletier and Caventou have 
lately elicited two new alkalies, one from the pale bark, which 
they call cinchonine, and one from the yellow, which they have 
named quinine. The red bark, which was expected to furnish a 
third alkali, surprised them by presenting a mixture of the other 
two, and each of these in greater abundance than either had 
been furnished singly by the other barks. These alkalies appear 
to be the same substance, or nearly so, with that which Duncan 
had called cinchonin. The French chemists, however, consider 
them as alkalies, since they are capable of uniting with acids and 



CINCHONA. 131 

forming salts. Cinchonine is obtained in white, transparent, 
needle-shaped crystals, soluble in 7000 parts of water, having lit- 
tle taste, except when dissolved in alcohol or acids, not fusible 
by any heat which does not decompose it. The precipitate, 
which galls produce in the infusion of bark, is according to them 
a gallate of cinchonine. Quinine is as nearly similar to this as 
potass to soda. It differs in solubility, being very soluble in ether, 
while cinchonine is not. The salts also differ in the form of their 
crystals, particularly the acetate. 

Solubility. Water extracts the sensible qualities of bark, 
even when cold, in a considerable degree. Hot water becomes 
more strongly impregnated, but grows turbid in cooling. If the 
boiling heat is continued long, the soluble matter undergoes a 
change, and becomes less soluble than before. This change has 
been attributed to a combination with the atmospheric oxygen ; 
but when decoction is carried on in covered vessels, the steam 
drives out the air, and it is difficult to see how such combination 
can take place. Alcohol is a powerful solvent, and, according to 
Neumann, takes up twice as much matter as water. But no so- 
lution of the ingredients of bark is found to answer in medicine 
as a substitute for the bark itself. 

Adulteration. Besides the substitution of one bark for 
another, under the same name, various foreign barks, resembling 
some of the varieties of cinchona, are occasionally mixed with, or 
sold for it. They can only be distinguished by those accustom- 
ed to the taste and smell of the true cinchona. Spurious barks 
are said to be immersed in a solution of aloes, to increase their 
bitterness. I have seen specimens, which, from the difference of 
their exterior and interior, appeared to have undergone some so- 
phistication of this sort. 

Uses. The medical properties of the Peruvian bark are those 
of a powerful tonic, an astringent and antiseptic. Its earli- 
est and most durable reputation was acquired in the treatment of 
intermittent fever, and in this disease its character remains un- 
changed at the present day. In regard to the time and mode of 
exhibiting it, some diversity of opinion has prevailed among phy- 
sicians. It seems now, however, to be generally agreed, that it 



132 CINCHONA. 

should be given as early as possible in the disease, premising on- 
ly a thorough evacuation of the alimentary canal. It should be 
commenced immediately after a paroxysm, and taken in doses of 
two scruples or a drachm, once in two or three hours, so that an 
ounce may be taken in twenty-four hours. During the paroxysm, 
its use must be suspended. In fevers of the remittent kind, 
where the remissions are very distinct, and there is not much ar- 
terial excitement, the bark is sometimes interposed with advan- 
tage. But its use should be watched with caution, and suspended 
if an aggravation of symptoms supervene. The continued fevers 
of this country, being generally attended at their commencement 
with a more or less inflammatory diathesis, very rarely admit of 
the use of bark, except it be at their latter stages, when prostra- 
tion of strength, low delirium, twitching of the tendons, &c. are 
liable to take place. In these cases it is useful, though less de- 
cisively so than wine and opium. It does not always agree with 
the patient, and if prematurely or injudiciously administered, it 
has appeared to impede the cure and protract convalescence. 
As no exact rule can be laid down for the time of commencing 
its use, where it is thought expedient to give it, the operation of 
the first doses must be attended to with vigilance and caution. 

In acute rheumatism the bark has been employed by many 
practitioners in imitation of Dr. Haygarth, who not long since re- 
commended it. In this obstinate disease it sometimes does good 
in the advanced stages, after the fullness and hardness of the 
pulse has subsided, but it is rarely, I believe, of advantage in the 
earlier periods of violent acute rheumatism. 

Bark, both externally and internally employed, is beneficial in 
malignant cynanche, and other diseases accompanied with gan- 
grene. When combined with other parts of a tonic regimen, it 
is useful in some nervous and spasmodic diseases attended with 
debility ; also in rickets and scrofula. It sometimes promotes 
the cure of old syphilitic taints, and has a good effect in support- 
ing the vital powers under the debilitating effect of large suppu- 
rations, abscesses, extensive ulcers, and cases where gangrene is 
threatened or actually established. 



CINNAMOMUM. 133 

From their analogy to intermittent fever, bark has been tried 
in other intermittent complaints, particularly in the distressing 
affection called periodical head-ache. In this complaint the bark, 
given liberally between the paroxysms, is a very effectual reme- 
dy, being equalled by no other excepting arsenic, which, in most 
periodical complaints, operates with an efficacy resembling, if 
not surpassing, that of the cinchona. 

Exhibition. The infusion, decoction and extract of Peruvian 
bark, described under their respective heads, are preparations of 
inferior strength, but nevertheless sometimes better adapted to 
weak stomachs than the powder. Tincture of bark cannot be 
given in any important case, so as to produce the peculiar effect 
of the cinchona, without at the same time introducing an injuri- 
ous quantity of alcohol. The best form is undoubtedly that of 
the substance reduced to fine powder. This may be taken in 
doses of from one to four scruples diffused in wine or milk, which 
fluids cover the taste tolerably well, provided they are taken as 
soon as mixed. In weak stomachs, which cannot support the 
powder, a mixture of the aqueous and alcoholic solutions is sub- 
stituted with advantage. 



CINNAMOMUM. 

Cinnamon. 

Origin. The Lauras cinnamomum, which produces this fine 
spice, grows in the East Indies, particularly in the Island of 
Ceylon. It has also been cultivated in the Isle of France, and 
tropical parts of America. Cinnamon is the interior bark of the 
young trees between four and eighteen years old, deprived of its 
outer coat before drying. 

Qualities. Good cinnamon has a fragrant odour, and a very 
pleasant, sweet, aromatic, pungent taste. The best is very thin, 
of a yellowish colour, and breaks into splinters. It has an agree- 
18 



134 CINNAMOMI OLEUM. 

able, sweet taste, and is not so hot as to occasion pain in the 
mouth. This drug is sometimes adulterated with refuse cinnamon, 
from which the oil has been extracted by distillation. The fraud 
is easily discovered by the weak taste and smell of such pieces. 
Cassia bark, and what is called Chinese cinnamon, are sometimes 
mixed with it. These are more hot, but less sweet and agreeable 
to the taste. Cassia is also known by its slimy feel in the mouth. 
The virtues of cinnamon depend on its volatile oil and on its as- 
tringency. 

Uses. It is given as a cordial stimulant and astringent, in 
complaints resulting from a relaxed state of the stomach and in- 
testines, particularly in diarrhcea from this cause. Its pleasant 
taste renders it a useful vehicle or accompaniment for other 
medicines. 

Exhibition. A scruple of the powder may be given for a 
dose; but the tincture is a more common form of exhibition; 
which see. 



CINNAMOMI OLEUM. 

Oil of Cinnamon. 

This oil is distilled from cinnamon bark, after it has been mace- 
rated in sea water for two days. Eleven pounds of the cinna- 
mon are said to be necessary to produce one ounce of oil. Its 
consequent high price leads to its adulteration with alcohol and 
with fixed oils, which last, if present, cause it to leave a greasy 
stain, when it has been dropped on paper. Oil of cinnamon is a 
powerful stimulant, sometimes given in flatulence and spasm of 
the stomach ; one or two minims on sugar being a dose. It is 
among the numerous local applications to carious teeth. 



COLCHICUM. 135 



COLCHICUM. 

Meadow Saffron. 

Origin. The Colchicum autumnale is a bulbous-rooted plant, 
common in Europe, and easily cultivated, though not native in 
this country. The leaves appear in spring, but the plant does not 
flower till about September. After flowering, the old bulb decays, 
and in the mean time a new one is formed, which produces the 
plant of the next year — a circumstance common to various bul- 
bous-rooted vegetables. For medicinal use the bulbs should be 
dug by the middle of summer, since they become nearly inert 
while producing their fructification. Those which do not flower 
probably retain their activity longer, which may perhaps account 
for some of the different opinions of writers on the subject. 

Qualities. The recent bulbs are ovate and solid, and when 
cut across exude a thick, acrid juice, which, if swallowed even in 
minute quantity, leaves a burning sensation in the fauces and 
stomach. Pelletier and Caventou report the following substances 
as resulting from an analytical examination of these bulbs, viz. a 
fatty matter composed of elaine,* stearine and volatile acid ; 
acid gallate of veratrine, yellow colouring matter ; gum, starch, 
inuline, woody substance, and a minute quantity of ashes.t Mr. 
Thomson, author of the London Dispensatory, finds that gluten 
is one of the constituent parts of the colchicum bulb, when in its 
perfect state ; that this principle is sometimes destroyed by dry- 
ing ; and that its presence is a test of the goodness of the medi- 
cine. According to this writer, gluten may be detected by the 
alcoholic solution of guaiac, or resin of guaiacum. For this pur- 
pose about ten grains of the dried bulb are to be rubbed with 
about sixteen minims of distilled vinegar, to dissolve the gluten ; 
then if they be rubbed again with an equal quantity of the alcoholic 

* See Adeps. 
t For the properties of veratrine, see Veratrum album. 



136 COLCHICUM. 

solution of guaiac, a beautiful cerulean blue colour appears and 
remains permanent, if the specimen be a good one. He is of 
opinion, that the bulbs, when taken up, should be immediately cut 
into slices of about the thickness of half a crown, and dried with- 
out artificial heat. In their dry state, these slices should be oval, 
friable, of a whitish colour, somewhat granular, bitter without 
sweetness, and destitute of smell. Mr. Battley thinks the bulbs 
should be dried in a heat of 170°. 

Uses. Colchicum is in large doses a deleterious, acrid-nar- 
cotic ; in small ones a cathartic and diuretic ; possessing, likewise, 
peculiar properties of a sedative kind. It appears to have been 
known to the ancients as a poison, and during the last century it 
has been occasionally employed as a medicine in dropsy, asthma, 
and some other chronic diseases. Recently it has excited much 
notice, especially in Great Britain, as a remedy in gout, and a 
sedative in various painful and inflammatory affections. The 
interest excited by a secret French specific, the Eau mediclnale, 
which was found to relieve the paroxysms of gout, led to various 
imitations and substitutes for that preparation. Among these, a 
vinous tincture of colchicum was found very nearly to resemble 
the foreign compound, both in its sensible properties and medici- 
nal effects. Accordingly, the Wine of colchicum became a 
prevailing medicine for gout, and was used with various success 
in that disease by different practitioners. The use of colchicum 
was soon extended to chronic rheumatism and other painful af- 
fections, and at length it was applied, by Mr. Haden and others, 
to the cure of acute inflammatory diseases, and the treatment of 
cases in which bloodletting is commonly employed. Sufficient 
evidence has been published to establish the fact, that this medi- 
cine, when possessed of its full activity, may be so managed as to 
diminish morbid force and frequency of the pulse, to allay pain 
and other phenomena of inflammation, and in certain cases to 
fulfil the object of depletion by the lancet. The Messrs. Haden 
inform us, that in pure inflammations, if it be given every four 
hours until it produce an abundant purgative effect, the pulse will 
become nearly natural, from being either quick and hard, or slow 
and full ', that in many cases its use may be substituted for 



COLCHICUM. 137 

bloodletting, at least when inflammation does not exist to an 
alarming degree in a vital part ; and that the patient is left in a 
state favorable to more rapid recovery, when fever and inflam- 
mation have been removed by colchicum, than when the same end 
has been effected by other means. In chronic rheumatism it is 
said rarely to fail, if persevered in for a time sufficiently long ; 
in habitual discharges of blood from plethora, it has been substi- 
tuted for frequent venesections, and after accidents it is said to 
have the power of averting the severe consequences which usual- 
ly follow such cases. 

In this city considerable attention has been bestowed upon the 
effects of colchicum in different diseases. The article employed 
has been the bulb imported in a live state, packed in sand, and 
dried immediately after its arrival. The sprouting of the flower- 
bud during transportation did not appear to lessen its activity. 
Administered in powder, this medicine has been found, in a varie- 
ty of instances, to relieve the symptoms of pulmonary and of 
peritoneal inflammation, in a manner not easily to be accounted 
for, except by the reduction of the inflammation. Its most fre- 
quent operation, I believe, when fairly tried, has been to allay 
pain, reduce the pulse, and diminish symptomatic fever ; to move 
the bowels, generally within twenty-four hours, and to excite 
nausea and great disgust, if the dose be large. It has neverthe- 
less sometimes failed to produce these effects. In rheumatic 
complaints its success has been equivocal, but on the whole 
rather favorable to its reputation than otherwise. 

Exhibition. Colchicum has of late been most frequently ad- 
ministered in pow T der. Five grains may be given three times a 
day to an adult, where the stomach is not particularly delicate. 
This quantity I have found to remain on the stomach and to 
move the bowels commonly on the second day. In important 
cases, the dose may be increased to eight or nine grains, if nausea 
does not prevent. In chronic cases, the dose of five or six grains 
may be given, according to Mr. Haden, once a day in the morn- 
ing, and continued for weeks together. This writer combined 
with it small quantities of sulphate and carbonate of potass, and 
gave it in a state of effervescence with an acid. 



138 COLLYRIA. 

It is prudent to begin the use of a new parcel, or specimen, 
with smaller doses than those above specified, and gradually to 
increase them, since the root is at some times more active than 
at others. The variable activity of the medicine is indeed a 
great impediment to its usefulness, and nothing can be more dis- 
cordant than the statements of writers on this subject. Professor 
Murray has cited various instances, in which this root has pro- 
duced distressing and even fatal effects ; while, on the other hand, 
an author by the name of Kratochvill asserts, that himself and 
others had eaten drachms of the root, both in spring and fall, with 
impunity ; and Orfila tells us, that he had repeatedly given 
several bulbs to dogs, in the month of June, without causing them 
any inconvenience. For further remarks, see Vinum colchici. 

The seeds of colchicum — Colchici semina — have been pro- 
posed by Dr. Williams as a substitute for the bulb, possessing 
all the medicinal advantages of the plant, attended with greater 
mildness and uniformity of operation. Several practitioners have 
agreed in their accounts of the efficacy of these seeds, particular- 
ly in chronic rheumatism. Dr. Williams uses a wine made by 
infusing two ounces of the seeds in a pint of sherry. From one 
to three drachms are given once or twice a day in aromatic wa- 
ter. He also employs a tincture made with the same propor- 
tions. In this country colchicum seeds have been used with some 
benefit in rheumatic complaints. They apparently possess the 
advantage of being less liable than the root to alter by age. I 
have found two or three grains of the powder to produce vomiting 
and purging in a mild degree, and ten grains to bring on powerful 
vomiting and purging, with vertigo and impaired vision during 
twenty-four hours. 



COLLYRIA. 

Collyria. 

The Collyria of the Pharmacopceia are metallic lotions, pre- 
pared of such strength as to be applicable to the eyes in many 



COLOCYNTHIS. 139 

Gases of disease; also, occasionally, to mucous membranes of 
other parts, and to inflamed or excoriated surfaces. 

Collyrium Plumbi Acetatis. Collyrium of Acetate of 
Lead. — This is of use as a sedative and astringent lotion in some 
forms of chronic ophthalmia. It is also useful as a discutient in 
erysipelatous and other superficial inflammations. It is some- 
times employed as an injection in gonorrhea; but, when this prac- 
tice is adopted, a weaker solution is preferable. 

Collyrium Plumbi Acetatis et Opii. Collyrium of Opi- 
um and Acetate of Lead. — This resembles the preceding, but 
agrees better with irritable cases of chronic ophthalmia. 

Collyrium Zinci Acetatis. Collyrium of Acetate of 
Zinc. — A double decomposition takes place during the prepara- 
tion of this article ; sulphate of lead is deposited, and acetate of 
zinc remains dissolved. It is a valuable astringent collyrium. 

Collyrium Zinci Sulphatis. Collyrium of Sulphate of 
Zinc. — This is one of the best astringent lotions for cases of 
ophthalmia, which require remedies of that class. I have ob- 
served it to agree particularly well with the weak eyes of nurs- 
ing women. 



COLOCYNTHIS. 

Colocynth. 

Origin. This fruit, called also coloquintida and bitter cu- 
cumber, is the product of an annual plant growing in Turkey. 
Belonging to the same genus as the cucumber and melon, it af- 
fords a remarkable example of a departure in nature from the 
general law, which makes the medicinal powers of plants corres- 
pond with their botanical affinities. The fruit of colocynth is 
round and yellow, and about the size of an orange. It is im- 



140 COLOMBA. 

ported in a dry state, being previously divested of its rind. The 
medicinal part is the dry pulp, or inside cellular portion, without 
the seeds. 

Qualities. The pulp has a mucilaginous quality in the 
mouth, but its taste is extremely bitter and nauseous. It is des- 
titute of smell. According to Mr. A. L. Thomson, it contains 
mucus, resin, a bitter principle and some gallic acid. The fruit 
is said by him not to be good, if it is larger than a St. Michael's 
orange, or has black, acute seeds. 

Uses, &c. Colocynth has been known as a drastic cathartic, 
ever since the time of the ancient Greeks. When given alone it 
purges with great vehemence, sometimes producing inflammation 
and bloody discharges. Trituration witli oily or farinaceous 
substances has been thought to moderate its action. It is, how- 
ever, seldom prescribed alone, but added in small quantities to 
certain compound cathartics, to quicken their action. Six or 
eight grains are a sufficient dose. 



COLOMBA. 

Columbo. 

Origin. This root is brought from Mozambique, on the east- 
ern coast of Africa, where the plant grows wild. From its 
name it was formerly supposed to be brought from Columbo in 
the Island of Ceylon. This, however, is not the case. In a dis- 
sertation on the medicinal plants of Ceylon, published by Dr. 
Scott in 1819, containing seventy or eighty species, the columbo 
root is not mentioned. The plant which produces this root has 
not yet been named. A specimen carried from Mozambique, 
and cultivated at Madras, proved to be the male of a dicecious 
twining plant, apparently of the natural order Menisperma. 

Adulteration. Within a few years the cities of the United 
States have been supplied with an article under the name of co- 
lumbo, which is shipped in barrels from New Orleans, and often 



COLOMBA. 141 

sold at auction and otherwise as the genuine drug. It appears 
to be the root of Frasera Waltevi ; which see. It may be distin- 
guished from the true columbo by its whiter colour, lighter tex- 
ture, the admixture of longitudinal pieces, and especially by its 
taste, which is sweetish at first, and not more than half as bitter 
as the real columbo. 

Qualities. The Mozambique columbo is imported in thin, 
circular pieces, an inch or two in diameter, which are apparently 
the transverse sections of a fusiform root. Its surface is rough 
and irregular, indistinctly marked with rays and circles, and of a 
brownish, rusty texture outside. The odour is slightly aromatic, 
and the taste an intense, penetrating, durable bitter. Both 
water and alcohol extract its bitterness. On chemical examina- 
tion, M. Planche found it to contain a peculiar substance like 
animal matter, a yellow, bitter, resinous matter, about one third of 
its weight of feecula, and a small portion of volatile oil. It ap- 
pears, according to Mr. Thomson, to contain cinchonin. 

Uses. Columbo is a mild, but powerful tonic, communicating 
vigour to the stomach, when properly administered, without pro- 
ducing stricture, nausea, or oppression. It agrees peculiarly well 
with dyspeptics, and I have repeatedly found cases of enfeebled 
digestion to bear this substance with advantage, when most other 
tonics produced disagreeable symptoms. It is usefully employed 
in diarrhoea resulting from a redundant flow of bile, and is said 
to possess considerable reputation in the cholera of the East In- 
dies. It is employed to restrain vomiting, an indication which 
few bitter tonics are capable of fulfilling. Columbo has been sub- 
stituted for Peruvian bark, in consequence of its milder action, in 
some febrile diseases, particularly in hectic and the low stage of 
puerperal fever. 

Exhibition. Ten or twenty grains of the powder may be 
given for a dose, in milk or in clear water, and repeated three 
times a day. In dyspeptic cases small doses answer better than 
large ones. The tincture is a useful form of exhibition. 



19 



142 CONFECTIONES. 



COJVFECTIOJYES. 

Confections. 

Confections are soft solids, in the composition of which sugar 
forms a principal article. The term includes what have been 
called conserves, made from recent vegetable substances, beaten 
with sugar as a preservative ; and electuaries, which were formed 
of dry powders, &c. brought to a proper consistence with syrup, 
either to facilitate their deglutition, or to conceal their taste. 

Confectio Aromatica. Aromatic Confection. — A combina- 
tion of warm, stimulating substances, sometimes given in colic 
or cramp from flatulence, atonic gout, &c. A drachm may form 
a dose. 

Confectio Aurantii Corticis. Confection of Orange 
Peel. — Chiefly used as a vehicle for other medicines. The vir- 
tues which it has, are those of the orange peel. 

Confectio Cassia. Confection of Cassia. — This compound, 
is gently laxative in the dose of two or three drachms, but is 
liable to occasion griping if given alone. 

Confectio Ros^e. Confection of Eoses. — Under the name 
of Conserve of Roses, this is well known as a pleasant vehicle 
for more active medicines. It is peculiarly well adapted for 
making pills of metallic and other heavy powders. It is some- 
times given alone as a mild astringent and demulcent. 

Confectio Scammonii. Confection of Scammony. — The 
scammony is here qualified by the aromatic articles, so as to be 
rendered less griping. The strength is somewhat uncertain, 
from the quantity of syrup being left at the discretion of the 



CONIUM. 1 43 

apothecary. Haifa drachm will commonly prove purgative; but 
the article is not much used. 

Confectio Senn^e. Confection of Senna. — This is the old 
lenitive electuary, formerly much esteemed as a laxative. It is 
less used at the present day, except as a pleasant accompaniment 
to other more active substances. Two or three drachms form a 
dose. 



CONIUM. 

Hemlock. 

Origin. Hemlock is a tall, biennial, umbelliferous plant, na- 
tive of Europe and Asia, but now common by road sides in many 
parts of the United States, It is supposed to be the same with 
the Conium employed as a poison by the ancient Greeks, but in 
our latitudes rendered less active by the influence of climate. 
If the change produced in it by climate be as great as that which 
happens in the poppy, the supposition is at least a plausible one. 

Qualities. The leaves of this plant have a strong, sickly 
odour, and a bitter, nauseous taste. These properties seem to 
reside in a volatile principle, since they may be destroyed by 
long drying, and may be concentrated by distillation, leaving a 
comparatively insipid residue. According to Schrader, hemlock 
contains extractive, gummy matter, resin, albumen and fsecula. 

Medicinal properties and uses. This plant is a powerful 
narcotic, differing however in strength, according to the circum- 
stances of its growth and preparation. If the green leaves of a 
mature plant, which has grown in the sun, or the juice of these 
leaves, either crude or properly inspissated, be taken into the 
stomach, the following symptoms, if the quantity has been suffi- 
cient, will rarely fail to take place, viz. a dizziness of the head 
and nausea of the stomach ; a sense of fullness in the eyes and 
diminished power of vision, together with a general faintness 



144 CONTRA YERVA. 

and muscular weakness of the whole body. These sensations 
usually begin in the course of half an hour. If the dose has been 
moderate, they will for the most part disappear in the course of 
half a day or less, and seldom continue beyond twenty-four hours. 
The idiosyncracies of different persons render thern variously 
susceptible of the action of this medicine. Hemlock has been 
undeservedly celebrated in a variety of chronic diseases, such as 
cancer, syphilis, mania, epilepsy, &c. It is only useful in these 
cases as an occasional palliative to pain. It is however a remedy 
of great power in jaundice, which disease it rarely fails to re- 
move, when it is not connected with permanent organic affection. 
The yellowness of the skin, &c. generally begins to disappear 
when the dose is carried high enough to produce dizziness. In 
the obstinate and painful disease of tic doloureux, this medicine 
has effected cures when pushed to its full extent. In hemicrania, 
which is not regularly intermittent, it has likewise given unequi- 
vocal relief. 

Exhibition. The leaves, carefully dried and preserved in 
close-stopped bottles, excluded from the light, may be given in 
doses of from one to three grains, and gradually increased. The 
extract, however, is considered a more certain preparation; 
which see. 



CONTRAYERVA. 

Contrayerva. 

Contrayerva is the root of a perennial plant of the West In- 
dies and South America. It has a strong smell, and a bitterish, 
pungent taste. Water and alcohol, assisted by heat, extract its 
properties. It is stimulant, sudorific and tonic, and is recom- 
mended by several of the older medical writers, particularly 
Huxham and Pringle, as a useful tonic in the low stages of 
typhoid and malignant fevers. From five grains to a drachm are 
given in powder for a dose. 



COPAIBA. 145 



CONVOLVULUS PANDURATUS. 

Wild Potatoe. 

The affinity of this plant to jalap, in its botanical character, has 
caused a medicinal quality to be ascribed to it, which it does not 
possess. It is one of the weakest of our indigenous cathartics, 
and requires too large a dose to be of much use in that character. 
It is said to mitigate strangury and gravel, and to operate as a 
diuretic. 



COPAIBA. 

Copaiba, 

Origin. The balsam or turpentine called copaiba, and fre- 
quently copaifa or capivi, is the product of a tall tree, growing in 
the West Indies and South America — the Copaifera officinalis. 
It is procured by boring holes in the trunk near its base, from 
which the balsam flows out rapidly, so that twelve pounds are 
said to be collected in three hours. It is imported from Brazil 
in small casks containing about one hundred weight or more each. 

Qualities. It has a peculiar, agreeable odour, resembling that 
of sandie wood, butits taste is bitter and acrid. It is clear, trans- 
parent, of a pale yellow colour, and lighter than water. "When 
recent, it has the consistence of oil, but grows thick by keeping. 
On distillation, it yields a limpid, volatile oil, but no benzoic 
acid, and leaves behind a solid resin. Its composition is there- 
fore analogous to that of turpentine. 

Uses. This substance agrees with other terebinthinate me- 
dicines in its power of stimulating the stomach and bowels, but 
more particularly the kidnies and urinary passages. Hence it 
readily purges, and still more generally increases the action of 



146 CORIANDRUM. 



the kidnies ; and, if long persevered in, may create strangury or 
temporary nephritis. Its action on the urethra and vagina has 
long since led to its use in leucorrhea and in old gleets ; but though 
sometimes successful in these obstinate complaints, it often 
shares the opprobrium of failure with other medicines. Gonor- 
rhea, in its recent state, is now found to be more speedily suscep- 
tible of cure from a state of entire rest, and an observance of the 
antiphlogistic regimen, than from the old method of injections. 
In cases of this sort, the balsam is given by many distinguished 
surgeons, as soon as the ardor urinse begins to subside, and is 
gradually increased until the cure is complete. Dr. Chapman 
recommends the free use of it in the earliest and inflammatory 
stage ; and states that at this period it relieves the inflammatory 
symptoms, and never produces stricture, swelled testicle, or any 
of the unpleasant sequels of the disease. — In some forms of ca- 
tarrh and bronchitis, copaiba is not only a safe, but, according to 
Dr. Armstrong, a highly beneficial medicine. But it is often 
injudiciously given in pulmonic diseases of the cellular tex- 
ture, from a popular idea that it is healing and expectorant. 
From a somewhat similar prejudice, it is applied to recent incised 
wounds, the healing of which it no doubt often retards, acting as 
an acrid, foreign substance, to prevent union by the first inten- 
tion. 

Exhibition. It is given in doses of from ten to fifty minims 
three times a day, on sugar or in milk, or made into an emulsion 
with mucilage of gum arabic. When it purges it must be com- 
bined with Tincture of opium ; but this does not always prevent 
the evil; and we are not unfrequently obliged to suspend its use 
on account of this occurrence. 



CORIANDRUM. 

Coriander. 

These seeds are the produce of an annual, umbelliferous plant, 
frequently cultivated in gardens. Like caraway seeds, they 



CORNU CERVI.— CORNUS FLORIDA. 147 

•form a warm, aromatic stimulant to the stomach, but are less 
grateful to the taste. The strength resides in an essential oil. 



CORNU CERVI. 
Stag's Horn. 



"a 



The horns of the stag, in the form of hartshorn shavings, af- 
ford a gelatinous solution with water, which is nutritious and 
demulcent, like other animal jellies. Their chief pharmaceulical 
use is derived from the phosphate of lime, which they afford. 
They enter into the composition of the antimonial powder, and 
on this account are retained in the Pharmacopoeia. 



CORNUS FLORIDA. 



Dogwood. 



This is a small, native tree, well known for its ornamental 
flowers in most parts of the country, but more particularly in the 
middle and southern states. The bark of the trunk is rough ex- 
ternally, and of a brownish colour within. Its taste is a strong 
bitter, with some astringent and aromatic flavour. It appears to 
contain a bitter, extractive substance, tannin, gallic acid, and a 
small portion of resin. This bark has been much employed as a 
tonic in various parts of the interior country. It is particularly 
used in intermittent fevers, and is applied to various other cases 
of debility, in which tonics are indicated. When fresh, it is some- 
times liable to disorder the stomach and bowels, which tendency 
it is thought to lose by age. It may be given in powder in 
doses of one or two scruples. Although this species has been 
most attended to, there are several others of the same genus, 
which, from their bitterness, promise quite as much efficacy. 



148 CORNUS SERICEA.— COPTIS. 



CORNUS CIRCINATA. 

Bound-leaved Dogwood. 



'»■ 



This species of dogwood is a native shrub, distinguished from 
others of its genus by its round leaves and beautifully spotted 
twigs. The bark is not exceeded by any other in bitterness, and 
unites with this property the chemical and sensible evidences of 
astringency. It is highly valuable as a tonic and stomachic, and 
appears to be largely in use in some parts of the United States, 
particularly in Connecticut, where it is employed as a substitute 
for cinchona, and has become an officinal article.* It is exhibited 
in the same way as Cornus Florida. 



CORNUS SERICEA. 

Swamp Dogwood. 

This is another of the bitter Cornels, native in the United 
States. Its properties resemble the preceding so much, that it is 
unnecessary to repeat them. Indeed the genus Cornus in the 
northern hemisphere, like Cinchona in the southern, appears to 
have the same medical character pervading all its species, differ- 
ing only in degree. 



COPTIS. 

Goldthread. 

The Coptis trifolia, which was arranged among the hellebores 
by Linnseus, is a beautiful native, evergreen plant, of the northern 

* See a paper by Dr. A. W. Ives in the New York Repository, 1822. 



COTULA CROCUS. 149 

states. Its roots are creeping, thread-shaped, and of a bright yel- 
low colour. They have an intensely bitter taste, without warmth 
or astringency. Alcohol is the best solvent of this article, form- 
ing a bright yellow tincture. Water also extracts the bitterness, 
but less perfectly. Goldthread is a pleasant tonic and promotes 
appetite and digestion. It is a popular remedy in apthous 
mouths and ulcers of the throat, though it does not appear to be 
very powerful in these complaints. As a tonic it may be given 
in the dose of ten or twenty grains of the powder. It is, howev- 
er, somewhat difficult to pulverize, owing to the tenacity of the 
fibres. A tincture, formed by an ounce of the root in a pint of 
diluted alcohol, may be given in doses of a drachm. 



COTULA. 

Mayweed. 

The Anthemis cotula is an annual weed imported from Europe, 
and now very common by road sides throughout the United 
States. Its taste is strong, disagreeable and bitter. In small 
quantities it is tonic, stimulating and diaphoretic ; in large ones 
emetic and sudorific. It is commonly given in infusion. 



CROCUS. 

Saffron. 

No medicine of the vegetable class has a higher price, in pro- 
portion to its value, than saffron. A very small part, the stigma 
of the flower, is picked off and cured by a particular process, the 
rest of the plant being rejected. The stigmas are sold in the 
form of pressed cakes, having a sweetish odour and a pungent, bit- 
terish taste. They abound in a kind of extractive matter, which 
20 



150 CROTON. 

has been named by Bouillon La Grange and Vogel, Polychroite } 
from the number of colours which the watery infusion assumes, 
when treated with different agents. Saffron is an ingredient in 
some compound medicines, and was formerly considered a cor- 
dial stimulant. It is a popular medicine in exanthematous dis- 
eases, being given in infusion, with a view to keep out the erup- 
tion. It is not, however, to be viewed as a medicine of great 
power, and is rare in this country on account of its price. The 
article commonly sold under its name in American shops is the 
flowers of Cartkamus tinctorius. 



\ 



CROTON. 

Croton, 
Croton tiglium. W, IV, 543. Semina. The seeds. 

Although this article is not in the American Pharmacopoeia, 
yet the attention it has excited of late in the European journals, 
furnishes a reason for offering some account of it in the present 
work. 

Origin. The Croton tiglium is a shrubby plant of India, 
which has been medicinally employed there from a remote peri- 
od. Both the seeds and their expressed oil have been long used 
in that country, and specimens, particularly of the latter, have 
been lately imported into England. They have, in that country, 
undergone sufficient trials to prove that they constitute a power- 
ful, and, in all probability, a useful medicinal agent. 

Qualities. The seeds, of which each capsule contains three, 
are of the size of a small bean, oblong, roundish on the outside, 
and slightly angular within. They are covered with a thin, brit- 
tle, greyish-green coating or shell, and are whitish within. Their 
taste is at first mild and pleasant, but after remaining a few mo- 
ments in the mouth, it is intensely acrid and burning. The 
interior or kernel consists, according to Dr. Nimmo, of 17 parts 



CROTON. 151 

of an acrid purgative principle, S3 of fixed oil, and 40 of farina- 
ceous matter. 

Uses. These seeds form one of the most powerful, speedy 
and certain cathartics, which have been introduced into the Ma- 
teria Medica, from the vegetable kingdom. A single grain of 
the kernel, or about one third part of a seed, purges with such 
vehemence as not always to be safe. A drop of the expressed oil 
likewise produces powerful catharsis. From different writers 
cited by Professor Murray, it appears that the seed in substance 
has been used in India as a drastic purgative in dropsy; that it 
has been effectual in expelling the tape worm ; that the oil taken 
in the dose of one drop diffused in wine is a common purge in 
that country ; and that it is found to operate, if only rubbed on 
the umbilical region. 

A number of British practitioners, who have lately made trial 
in that country of the seeds and oil of croton, have published in 
the journals very decisive accounts of the efficacy of this medi- 
cine. It appears from their reports, that the oil, given in doses 
even of half a minim, operates speedily and copiously, occasioning 
nausea and griping in a small proportion only of the cases in 
which it has been tried. A tincture of the seeds was administer- 
ed by Dr. Nimmo in more than a hundred instances, out of which, 
" in not more than three or four cases, was vomiting produced, 
and that not in a violent degree ; in not many more was nausea 
felt ; in all the cases purging was induced in a space of time be- 
tween half an hour and three hours after taking the medicine ; 
the purgative effects were generally moderate, accompanied with 
griping rarely, and in proportion generally to the effect which 
was intended to be produced." 

Being accidentally in possession of a small parcel of croton 
seeds at the time when I first perceived the notices of this article 
in the English journals, and my attention having a short time be- 
fore been called to a striking instance of their powerful effect;* 



* A gentleman of this city, having received some green-house seeds 
from Calcutta, among which were those of Croton tiglium, was induced 
by the appearance of the latter to taste one of them. It proving not 
immediately unpleasant, he chewed and swallowed about half the seed. 



152 CROTON. 

I prepared a tincture by triturating the seeds in alcohol in the 
proportion of about six grains to the fluidounce. Of this liquid, 
when digested and filtered, I found a fluid rachm, and sometimes 
less, to operate with certainty, occasioning not more inconve- 
nience than other purgatives, except that in a few instances it 
left for sometime an uncomfortable sense of heat in the mouth 
and stomach. In one case a physician, who used it at my re- 
quest, informed me, that it caused a free salivation of a number 
of hours' continuance. 

In the present state of the examination, we are authorized to 
consider the croton as a stimulating, drastic and sure purgative, 
well adapted to the treatment of dropsy, paralysis, tgenia and 
other diseases requiring medicines of its class. It seems also 
adapted to apoplexy, though in one case of that disease a large 
dose failed to move the bowels. The small bulk required for a 
dose is much in favour of its employment as a common purge in 
many cases of less magnitude, provided future experiments shall 
confirm the safety and convenience of its operation. 

Exhibition. The most eligible form of exhibition for this 
medicine remains to be settled. It appears to have been 
tried in three different modes. 1.— The substance. The great 
violence of its operation in this form, arising probably from its 
being concentrated and acting on particular parts of the mu- 
cous coat of the intestines, will probably prevent it from 
being used in this shape. 2. — The oil in the dose of a minim. 
This is a more common form, and is very effectual, since the oil 
holds the cathartic principle in solution, though, when freed from 
it, it becomes inert. The oil is still too concentrated to act with- 
in a few minutes a great sensation of heat came on in the fauces and 
throat, like that occasioned by the ranunculi ; this feeling extended to the 
stomach and bowels ; and in less than half an hour a violent cathartic op- 
eration commenced and was repeated more than twenty times in three 
hours. A profuse perspiration, faintness and some vomiting also took 
place. The pain was represented as extreme, exceeding that of a surgi- 
cal operation which some years before he had undergone. A table 
spoonful of olive oil, which was taken during the operation, afforded great 
relief to the pain. 



CUBEBA. 153 

out pain, and requires to be diffused either by making it into pills 
with some dry substauce, or by blending it with syrup or muci- 
lage. The principal objection against the use of the oil is its 
liability to adulteration. S. — The tincture. This may be made 
from the oil, or directly from the seeds. Alcohol is found to 
dissolve all the acrid principle of the oil, leaving it mild and 
insipid. It, in like manner, extracts the acrimony from the seeds. 
The tincture conveys the medicine to the stomach in a diluted 
state, and promotes its equable diffusion over the lining mem- 
brane of that organ, a circumstance which has been supposed 
greatly to promote its easy and favorable operation. The fol- 
lowing is the tincture which I have used : 

Take of Croton seeds, bruised, two scruples and a half. 
Alcohol, half a pint. 

Triturate the seeds thoroughly with a small part of the alcohol ; 
then add the rest ; digest ten days, and filter. Dose about a 
fluidrachm. 

The shell of the seeds, according to Hermann, is purgative, but 
Dr. ^Nimmo found that they did not possess the characteristic 
acrimony of the plant. 



CUBEBA. 

Cubebs. 

The Piper cubeba is a native of the East Indies and of Sierra 
Leone. The fruit resembles the common black pepper in size, 
is of a greyish colour, and has commonly a little footstalk attach- 
ed to it, from which it is sometimes called tailed pepper. It is 
less pungent than black pepper. According to Beau me, its acri- 
mony is retained in the spirituous extract, but not in the volatile 
oil. Vauquelin reports that the seeds of cubebs contain a volatile 
oil, a resin resembling that of copaiba, a different coloured resin, 
a coloured, gummy matter, an extractive principle and saline sub- 



154 CUNILA.— CUPRUM. 

stances. Cubebs has been lately extolled in the treatment of 
gonorrhea, taken in the early stages of the complaint ; also in 
fluor albus. The dose recommended is from a drachm to a 
drachm and a half three times a day, with a sufficient quantity of 
water to relieve the mouth from its acrimony. Probably its op- 
eration is not unlike that of copaiba balsam. 



CUNILA. 

Pennyroyal. 

The plant called pennyroyal in England is a species of mint, 
Mentha pulegium / while the American plant, which bears 
the same common appellation, belongs to the genus Cunila of 
Linnaeus and Hedeoma of Persoon. American pennyroyal is a 
warm aromatic, possessing a pungent flavour, which is common 
to many of the labiate plants of other genera. Like them it is 
heating, carminative and diaphoretic. It is in popular repute as 
an emmenagogue. 



CUPRUM. 

Copper. 

Copper is a metal of a light red colour, ductile, malleable and 
sonorous, having a styptic taste, and a peculiar, disagreeable 
odour when rubbed. Its specific gravity is 8.895, and it melts at 
27° Wedgewood. "When exposed to the atmosphere, it loses its 
lustre and becomes covered with a green coating, which is car- 
bonate of copper. Copper, in its clean metallic state, exerts but 
little energy on the human system and is not used in medicine. 
The poisonous character of the metal is derived only from the 
great activity of its salts. Copper coins have been swallowed in 



CUPRI SUBACETAS. 155 

various instances, and remained in the alimentary canal two or 
three months without occasioning any symptoms attributable to 
the metal. In a few cases, however, they have created distur- 
bance in the functions, and in one instance a salivation, resem- 
bling that from mercury, was induced, apparently, by the swal- 
lowing of a copper coin. When poisoning occurs from copper, it 
is sometimes in consequence of want of cleanliness in the use of 
copper vessels, which are suffered to become coated with the 
green carbonate; but more frequently it occurs from vinegar be- 
ing suffered to stand in such vessels until verdigris is formed, or 
from the imprudent immersion of copper in acetous fluids to pro- 
duce a green colour in articles preserved by them. The presence 
of copper in a liquid may often be suspected from the taste alone. 
It may be chemically tested by adding a few drops of water of 
carbonate of ammonia, which produce a fine blue colour, if cop- 
per be present ; or by immersing a blade of polished steel, which 
will become coated with the copper. According to Orfila, the 
best antidote for verdigris is sugar taken in large quantities, both 
pure and dissolved in water ; but this has been doubted. 



CUPRI SUBACETAS. 

Subacetate of Copper. Called Verdigris. 

Origin. Verdigris is made at Grenoble, in the south of 
France, by moistening the surface of copper plates with distilled 
vinegar, until a subacetate of the metal is formed. At Montpel- 
lier it is made by covering the plates with the skins of grapes, af- 
ter the wine has been pressed from them, and water ; until they 
ferment and produce an acetous acid capable of acting on the 
copper. 

Qualities. Verdigris is sold in hard, foliaceous masses, of a 
beautiful blueish green colour, not deliquescent, having no smell, 
but a styptic, disagreeable, metallic taste. It is soluble in less 
than twice its weight of distilled water at 60°. It may be sus- 



156 CUPRI SULPHAS. 

pected of adulteration when it deliquesces, has a salt taste, or 
contains spots of a different colour. 

Uses, &c. The principal use of verdigris is among painters. 
In medicine it is not much employed, on account of the violence 
of its action. One or two grains act speedily as an emetic, but 
sometimes occasion distressing symptoms. Large doses bring on 
violent vomiting and purging, inflammation of the intestinal canal, 
delirium, syncope, convulsions and death. Diluents taken free- 
ly, whites of eggs, sugar and oily demulcents are the best anti- 
dotes. Verdigris, in powder, is applied to ulcers with hard edges 
or fungous granulations, as a gentle escharotic 

The Cupri subacetas PRJEVA.RATVS, or Prepared subacetate 
of copper, of the Pharmacopoeia is this article reduced to an im- 
palpable powder for exhibition. 



CUPRI SULPHAS. 

Sulphate of Copper, Called Blue Vitriol, 

Origin. Blue vitriol is obtained by evaporating waters which 
hold it in solution. Such waters are found in some copper mines, 
where the sulphuret of copper, by exposure to air and moisture, 
has become converted into a sulphate. Sometimes it is produc- 
ed artificially by roasting the sulphuret, and exposing it till it 
becomes a sulphate, which is then dissolved and crystallized. 

Qualities. It crystallizes in rhomboidal prisms of a deep 
blue colour, without smell, having a very austere, acrid, styptic 
taste. It undergoes a slight efflorescence when exposed to the 
air. It is soluble in four parts of water at 60°, and in less than 
two at the boiling point. The solution reddens vegetable blues 
shewing an excess of acid. It appears by late experiments to be 
a bisulphate containing one proportional of peroxide of copper 
to two of sulphuric acid, combined in its crystalline form with 
ten proportionals of water, on which its beautiful blue depends. 
It is precipitated from its solutions by alkalies and their carbo* 



LIQUOR CUPRI SULPHATIS. 157 

nates, subborate of soda, acetate of ammonia, tartrate of potass, 
muriate of lime, nitrate of silver, the acetates of lead, oxymuriate 
of mercury, and astringent vegetable solutions, which are there- 
fore chemically incompatible with it. 

Uses. Sulphate of copper is astringent and emetic. Al- 
though its internal use is not extensively resorted to in Europe, 
it is esteemed in this country a medicine of decided and peculiar 
utility. We possess few substances which exert a more power- 
ful and speedy effect in arresting hemorrhages, particularly those 
of the uterus, whether during pregnancy, or after delivery, than 
a weak solution of this salt. The preparation which is most em- 
ployed is an aqueous solution containing a grain and a half in 
the fluidounce. (See Solution of sulphate of copper.) I appre- 
hend that the emetic power of sulphate of copper has been under- 
rated, since many books direct the least dose for an emetic to be 
two grains, and for a tonic one fourth of a grain. I have rarely 
found the stomach of a female patient capable of retaining a 
quarter of a grain, and have often seen vomiting produced by a 
much smaller quantity. Sulphate of copper is said to have been 
found a valuable auxiliary to bark in the management of protract- 
ed and obstinate intermittents, a grain being given in four doses 
during the day, combined with bark or with opium, to modify its 
action. A solution of four grains to the fluidounce has been re- 
commended as a wash for chancres and sloughing ulcers of the 
penis. A saturated solution, and the dry powder, are frequently 
employed as mild escharotics. 

Exhibition. For an emetic, from one to six grains may be 
given, but its operation is unpleasant. See the following article. 



LIQUOR CUPRI SULPHATIS. 

Solution of Sulphate of Copper. 

This solution and others of similar strength have for a conside- 
rable number of years been employed in this city and some other 
21 



158 LIQUOR CUPRI AMMONIARETI. 

parts of the United States, as a remedy for uterine and other 
hemorrhages. Thirty minims are given at a dose in water. This 
quantity generally produces nausea and a diminution of hemorrh- 
age in puerperal cases. It may be repeated in ten or fifteen min- 
utes, if its effects are not sooner felt. The sulphuric acid con- 
tained in the preparation is an adjuvant to the sulphate of copper. 



CUPRI AMMONIARETUM. 

Jlmmoniaret of Copper. 

The article which, in conformity to the Edinburgh nomencla- 
ture, is called ammoniaret (otherwise ammoniuret) of copper, ap- 
pears to be a salt, either triple or mixed, composed of sulphuric 
acid, and oxide of copper, and ammonia. It has a blue colour, and 
a styptic, disagreeable taste, and exhales the odour of ammonia. 
It is given in chorea and epilepsy, and was highly thought of by 
Cullen. The commencing dose is a quarter of a grain in a pill 
made of bread, to be gradually increased to four or five grains if 
the stomach bears it. 



LIQUOR CUPRI AMMONIARETI. 

Solution of Ammoniaret of Copper. 

This liquid, adopted from the Dublin College, probably con- 
tains muriate of lime in solution, as well as the compound of cop- 
per and ammonia, and some other ingredients. It is employed 
externally as a stimulating wash and mild escharotic to indolent 
ulcers. Largely diluted with water, it has been applied to specks 
on the cornea. 



DECOCTA. 159 

CURCUMA. 

Turmeric. 

Turmeric is brought from the East Indies, and is well known 
as a yellow dye, and as an ingredient in Curry powders. In 
its medicinal effects, it is a mild stimulant and subtonic, but is 
little used at present, except as a colouring matter. It tinges the 
urine yellow in persons who take it. 



DECOCTS. 

Decoctions. 



Decoctions are solutions of vegetable principles in water, made 
by the process of boiling. It is necessary that the substances 
submitted to decoction should be of a kind, the active principles 
of which are soluble in water, and at the same time not so vola- 
tile as to escape during the process. They should, if solid, be 
bruised or sliced, and the vessel should be of such shape that the 
water may cover them entirely. It is convenient that the vessel 
should be loosely covered, to keep out impurities, and diminish the 
loss by evaporation ; though not for the purpose commonly speci- 
fied, of excluding the air, which object is sufficiently effected by 
the steam. The boiling should not be too long continued, since 
not only a part of what is first dissolved is afterwards precipi- 
tated by the diminution of the water, but new compounds, of an 
insoluble nature, take place among the different chemical ingre- 
dients. Decoctions should be filtered through linen while hot. 
They ought not to be prepared more than a day or two before 
they are wanted, and it is on this account that they are extem- 
poraneously made in families, perhaps more frequently than 
prepared by apothecaries. 



160 DECOCTA. 

Decoctum AraliuE nudicaxtlis. Decoction of False Sarsa* 
parilla.— -This is not a very important preparation. The tonic 
properties of the plant may be retained, but its volatile constitu- 
ents are likely to be dissipated in the process. 

Decoctum Cinchona. Decoction of Peruvian Bark. — The 
direction given for preparing this decoction may be applied to 
any of the varieties of bark, at the option of the prescribes The 
boiling is limited to ten minutes, since, if too long continued, an 
insoluble extract begins to be formed in the water. The decoction 
in cooling deposits a sediment, and must therefore be shaken be- 
fore it is administered. It is given chiefly to patients, who do 
not bear the bark in substance. Dose from one to three fluid-* 
ounces. 

Decoctum Colombo compositum. Compound Decoction 
of Columbo. — From the nature of its ingredients, this must form 
a valuable tonic in dyspepsia, half a fluidounce being taken three 
times a day. 

Decoctum Dulcamara. Decoction of Bitter sweet. — This 
decoction is the common form for administering bitter sweet, 
and has been found of important use in leprosy and other diseases, 
to which that plant is applied. Its use may be commenced with 
half a fluidounce three times a day, and gradually increased to 
any amount, which does not produce nausea and giddiness. I 
have found narcotic effects to arise from a common wine glass 
full. 

Decoctum Guaiaci. Decoction of Guaiacum. Formerly 
Decoction of the Woods. — This is a feeble preparation of 
guaiacum wood and sassafras, with some demulcent ingredients. 
The resin being insoluble, and the volatile oil dissipated, the 
remaining ingredients must be of small efficacy. It was formerly 
esteemed as a medicine in syphilis and rheumatism. A pint or 
two may be taken in a day. 



DECOCTA. 161 

Decoctum Hordei. Decoction of Barley. — Very demul- 
cent and nutritive. See Hordeum. 

Decoctum Hordei compositum. Compound Decoction 
of Barley. — Very much like the preceding, but more agreeable 
to the taste. 

Decoctum Lichenis. Decoction of Iceland Moss. — A pint 
or more may be taken in a day by patients requiring the article. 
See Lichen. 

Decoctum Mezerei. Decoction of Mezereon. — This decoc- 
tion derives its efficacy from the mezereon, and is given in doses 
of from four to six fluidounces several times in a day. It is very 
useful in chronic rheumatism, but less so in syphilis than it was 
once supposed to be. 

Decoctum Sarsaparilla. Decoction of Sarsaparilla. — 
This is a demulcent and slightly tonic liquid. It has been used, 
and is still used, with alleged advantage, as an alterative in 
syphilis and cutaneous diseases. 

Decoctum Sarsaparilla compositum. Compound De- 
coction of Sarsaparilla. — This resembles a decoction once cele- 
brated under the name of Lisbon diet drink. It has been esteem- 
ed in venereal and rheumatic affections, but it is a cumbersome 
preparation, and probably depends on the mezereon for much of 
its activity. A pint may be taken in divided doses during a day. 

Decoctum Scilla. Decoction of Squill. — This is a con> 
pound preparation from several powerful diuretics, calculated to 
be of use in dropsical cases. The activity of the squill, however, 
is probably impaired by the boiling. Half a fluidounce may be 
taken at a dose s and gradually increased till it offends the 
stomach. 



n 

162 DELPHINIUM.— DIGITALIS. 

Decoctum Senega. Decoction of Seneca Snake root.—* 
This is the common form in which senega is exhibited, from one 
to three fluidounces being given at a dose, three or four times in 
a day. 

Decoctum Veratri albi. Decoction of White Hellebore, 
— This is not taken internally, but used as a lotion in tinea, 
herpes, &c. Its use requires caution. 



DELPHINIUM. 

Larkspur. 

The botanical alliance of the Larkspur of our gardens with 
Aconite and some other poisonous plants, would justify, a priori, 
a belief, that it possesses active properties. This is found on ex- 
periment to be the case. A tincture formed by infusing an 
ounce of the bruised seeds in a pound of spirit has been found an 
antispasmodic in asthma, and an active diuretic in dropsy. The 
dose is from ten to twenty drops * Larger doses are liable to 
nauseate, and would, not improbably, produce narcotic symptoms. 



DIGITALIS. 

Foxglove. 



L <3' 



Origin. The Digitalis purpurea is an elegant biennial 
plant, common in Great Britain and other parts of Europe, but 
not found native in the United States. It is easily cultivated in. 
gardens, and the best specimens of foxglove which I have seen 
were raised in this country by the Shakers. The practice adopt- 

* See New England Journal, Vol. II. 348. 



DIGITALIS. 163 

ed by these people of pressing dried herbs into compact, square 
cakes is a very useful mode of preserving their properties. 

Qualities. The leaves have a nauseous, bitterish taste. Both 
water and alcohol extract their properties, but particularly the 
latter. They contain extractive and a pea-green, resinous matter ; 
also some salts of ammonia, potass and lime. 

Medicinal properties and uses. Foxglove has the general 
properties of a narcotic, but is more directly sedative to the cir- 
culating system than most of that class, at the same time that it 
possesses qualities somewhat peculiar to itself. Its powers and 
modus operandi have been the subject of much controversy 
among medical men, and do not appear to be definitively settled 
at the present day. We may however state the following as the 
effects which are commonly produced by a large dose, indepen- 
dent of connection with any diseased state of the body : — In the 
head it brings on giddiness, imperfect vision, more or less inter- 
ruptioa of the intellectual faculties, and sometimes a throbbing 
pain. The stomach is affected with nausea, accompanied by a 
distressing faintness or sinking, to which vomiting frequently 
succeeds. The bowels are not always affected, but sometimes 
profuse and obstinate evacuations take place, followed by great 
prostration of strength. On the circulating system digitalis has 
a sedative influence, reducing in a remarkable manner the force 
and frequency of the pulse. It is jet a point of dispute among 
physicians, whether this reduction is immediate and direct, or 
the final result of a primary excitement by the medicine. It is 
however certain, that if such excitement exists, it is trifling and 
evanescent, compared with the depression which uniformly fol- 
lows. In a practical view, the determination of this question is of 
less consequence than it might at first view appear to be, as the 
reduction takes place within a short time after the medicine is 
given. It is influenced by some collateral circumstances, par- 
ticularly by posture and motion. When the pulse is reduced, as 
it frequently is by this medicine, to 40 beats in a minute, in a 
horizontal posture, it is quickened to 70 by a sitting posture, 
and to 100 by rising erect. — On the kidnies and urinary organs 
this medicine exerts no stimulant effect whatever in a state of 



164 DIGITALIS. 

health, although, in certain forms of disease, it prodigiously in- 
creases the discharge of urine. 

When digitalis is taken in improper quantities it becomes a 
poison, inducing a train of alarming symptoms like those which 
follow other narcotics.* 

During the last thirty years, foxglove has been extensively 
tried as a medicine in various diseases. Its power of lessening 
the frequency of the pulse and irritability of the system, led to 
its employment in inflammatory disorders, as a substitute for the. 
important remedy of depletion. Some of the principal support- 
ers of its reputation in this respect were Dr. Ferriar, who warmly 
commended it as a direct remedy in active hemorrhages, and in 
pulmonary consumptions, and Dr. Currie, who employed it in acute 
inflammations of the brain, lungs and other viscera. Drs. Bed- 
does, Darwin, Drake and various others have given ample testi- 
mony to its efficacy in consumptive complaints. It has, neverthe- 
less, of late rather lost than gained reputation, and does not 
justify the warm encomiums originally bestowed on it. It is 
seldom of much use in phthisis, unless in the primary stage, and 
even then it does not agree with all patients. To some constitu- 
tions, however, in incipient cases, it proves not only palliative, 
but removes the cough wholly, when given seasonably, and perse- 
vered in till its effects on the stomach and head are felt. In 
some diseases related to phthisis, particularly in chronic coughs, 
which succeed to catarrh and pneumonia, without actual lesion of 
the lungs, this remedy is decidedly and strikingly successful. 

In dropsy, for which complaint digitalis was revived in modern 
practice by Dr. Withering, it enjoyed for a time a celebrity equal 
to that which it possessed in pulmonary consumption. When 

* I once knew a patient to take by mistake a table spoonful of the 
saturated tincture. The accident was speedily followed by violent 
vomiting and purging, the first of which occurred soon enough to dis- 
lodge a great part of the medicine. It was nevertheless attended by 
total blindness, of twelve or fourteen hours continuance, cold sweats, 
frequent and long continued syncope, and a hardly perceptible pulse. 
The patient was partially relieved in twelve hours, and wholly in twen- 
ty-four. 



DIGITALIS. 165 

we recollect that dropsy, in one or another of its forms, is often 
the terminating complaint of intemperate, diseased and broken 
constitutions, and that so many of the cases which occur are 
actually incurable ; it is singular that the most flattering accounts 
of its success should have been published by a succession of 
medical writers, whose names are of the highest authority. It is 
probable that the impaired confidence, which now exists in re- 
gard to its diuretic powers, is not so much the result of want of 
activity in the medicine, as of the too high excitement of expec- 
tation respecting it in the first instance. It is undoubtedly, in 
some cases of dropsy, a remedy of the highest utility, and there 
is none which, in successful cases, produces a more rapid evacua- 
tion of the accumulated fluid. It is oftener successful in dropsy 
of the anasarcous kind, than in that of the large cavities, and it 
is more likely to afford benefit if preceded by evacuations, particu- 
larly purgatives, than if given at once. In favorable cases relief 
is afforded early, and there is little use in persevering with the 
medicine beyond a week, if it does not discover its efficacy with- 
in that time. 

One of the most plausible explanations of the operation- of 
foxglove in discharging the effused fluid of dropsy, is that of 
Dr. Maclean, who considers that it does not increase the quantity 
of urine by any stimulating effect upon the kidnies, since it is not 
diuretic to a person in health ; but that, in dropsical cases, it in- 
fluences the absorbents in such manner as to enable them to take 
up the effused fluid and throw it into the circulation, from whence 
it is afterwards removed by the natural emunctories. But per- 
haps it is explanation enough to say, that digitalis cures dropsy 
by arresting the diseased action by which fluid is accumulated, 
and allowing opportunity for the excretories to perform their 
natural functions, in eliminating this fluid from the body. 

Exhibition. The commencing dose of the powdered leaves 
is one grain, of the tincture from ten to fifteen minims, and of 
the infusion half a fluidounce. Either of these doses may be 
gradually increased by a sixth part of its quantity at a time, and 
given three times a day, until nausea and vertigo ensue from it. 
Patients, while taking this medicine, require to be seen daily, or 
22 



166 DIOSPYROS.— DOLICHOS. 

oftener by the physician, on account of their liability to sudden 
diarrhcea and prostrating symptoms, which require the immediate 
suspension of the medicine. It is rarely safe to proceed far 
with the foxglove after the head and stomach have become af- 
fected. 



DIOSPYROS. 

Persimmon. 

The Persimmon tree is very common in the middle and west- 
ern states, and grows also in the southern parts of our country. 
The bark is bitter, and has been added to our numerous list of 
native tonics. It is recommended in intermittents and* ulcerated 
sore throats, and may be exhibited in the same manner as Cin- 
chona. 



DOLICHOS. 

Cowhage. 

The Dolichos pruriens is a papilionaceous, climbing plant of 
the East and West Indies. Its pods are covered with stiff, sharp 
bristles or spiculae of a venomous nature, which, when rubbed 
upon the skin, excite a violent and intolerable itching. When 
mixed, however, with honey or treacle, they are so sheathed as to 
be swallowed with impunity. These spiculse have been intro- 
duced into practice as an anthelmintic, it being expected that 
they would exert the same influence on the bodies of worms in 
the intestinal canal, that they do on the human skin, when applied 
to it in their dry state. Being inclined to doubt the power of 
t^iese bristles to withstand the digestive process of the stomach, 
I formerly made some experiments, with the assistance of a 
pupil, which have induced a strong doubt of their mechanical 
efficacy as a vermifuge. It was found that maceration in 



DRACONTIUM. 167 

warm water for an hour dissolved their virus, and rendered them 
incapable of exciting the skin. Some portions were enclosed 
in muslin and given to animals, and after remaining half an hour 
in the stomach, they were found equally inert. It is therefore 
improbable, that they can produce much annoyance to worms 
situated, as these animals usually are, below the stomach. The 
fact that cowhage does not irritate the stomach or bowels, when 
its vehicle is digested, might have been a sufficient reason for sup- 
posing its efficacy destroyed. The apparent success of some 
cases, in which it has been employed, is probably owing to the 
cathartics which have followed its use. 



DRACONTIUM. 

Skunk Cabbage. 

The skunk cabbage is an indigenous plant, very common in 
wet meadows throughout the United States, and well known for 
its offensive odour, perfectly resembling that of the animal whose 
name it bears. Its odour resides in a volatile substance not easi- 
ly obtained in a separate state, and soon dissipated by heat or by 
drying. It contains, likewise, an acrid principle like that of the 
genus Arum ; also a portion of resin and mucilage. 

Uses. This plant in small doses is a stimulant and antispas- 
modic, and in large ones a narcotic. Thirty grains of the pow- 
der d root, if freshly prepared, will bring on vertigo, nausea, and 
frequently vomiting. Age and exposure, however, diminish its 
activity. In medicine this vegetable has been found of important 
use in certain forms of asthma and in chronic catarrh, in which 
diseases it has succeeded, even when the cases had previously 
been of great obstinacy. It has also been recommended in rheu- 
matism, in hysteria, and in dropsy. 

Exhibition. A popular form of using this medicine is that 
of a syrup. This is an uncertain preparation, owing to the vola- 
tility of the active ingredients. It is better given in powder, 



168 DULCAMARA. 

made from the dried root a short time before it is wanted. Ten 
grains may be taken at a dose in honey or treacle, and the quan- 
tity gradually increased as long as the stomach and head remain 
unaffected. 



DULCAMARA. 

Bitter sweet. 

Origin. The Solarium dulcamara is a native plant, common 
also to Europe, growing naturally in wet places, but sometimes 
met with in a dry soil. The name of bitter siveet is often 
applied to the Celastrus scandens, a much larger, climbing plant, 
with obscure, greenish blossoms, wholly unlike the fine purple and 
yellow flowers of the Solanum. 

Qualities. The taste and smell of Dulcamara are less nau- 
seous than those of many other species of Solanum. They are 
imparted to both water and alcohol, though the former appears to 
be the better solvent. The portion dissolved seems to consist 
chiefly of a kind of extractive matter. A poisonous vegetable al- 
kali, under the name ofSolana, has been announced to exist in this 
plant and some other species of Solanum. 

Uses, &c. This plant was once celebrated as a remedy for a 
great variety of disorders, in which, whatever may have been its 
merits, it has now given place to more active medicines. Its 
present reputation rests chiefly on its efficacy in cutaneous dis- 
eases. Dr. Crichton and Drs Willan and Bateman represent its 
operation as beneficial in psoriasis and pityriasis, but more 
particularly in leprosy under all its varieties, for which disease it 
was found peculiarly efficacious. The common form of exhibi- 
tion is that of the decoction ; which see. The efficacy of the de- 
coction, taken internally, is increased by employing it at the same 
time in a stronger form as a lotion to the affected surfaces. The 
plant, particularly the American variety, possesses considerable 
narcotic power, on which account its use should be begun with 
small doses. 



ELATERIUM. 169 



ELATERIUM. 

Elaterinm. 

Origin. The Momordica elaterium is a perennial plant 
growing spontaneously in the south of Europe. The fruit, which 
is botanically allied to the cucumber and melon, has the curious 
property of separating itself, when ripe, from its stalk, and ejecting 
its seeds with great force through an opening in the base, where 
the stalk was attached. The medicinal property resides chiefly 
in the juice at the centre of the fruit, and about the seeds. The 
drug called Elaterium in our Pharmacopoeia, and which the Lon- 
don College have, with some latitude of application, called an ex- 
tract, is the sediment which subsides from the juice of the fruit 
after it has been drawn out. The quantity of genuine elaterium 
contained in a single fruit is extremely small, as it appears that 
only six grains were obtained by Dr. Clutterbuck from forty of 
the cucumbers. The plant might be raised in this country. 

Qualities. Elaterium is sold in small, thin cakes or fragments 
of a greenish colour and a bitter and somewhat acrid taste. It is 
liable to vary in strength, according to the mode of its prepara- 
tion. If the juice has been extracted with much pressure, the 
sediment contains portions of the fruit which are comparatively 
inactive, and which, of course, tend to lessen its activity. Dr. 
Paris, who has analyzed this drug, reports it to contain, besides 
water and woody matter, extractive, feecula, gluten, a bitter prin- 
ciple, and a resinous substance so heavy as to sink in water, to 
which he gives the name of Elatin, and in which he considers the 
purgative property to reside, although its action is quickened by 
the presence of the bitter principle. In selecting Elaterium, 
those specimens which have a very dark colour, are compact and 
heavy, and break with a shining, resinous fracture, are to be re- 
jected as bad. 

Uses. This drug is one of the most violent cathartics. It 
was employed by the ancients as a hydragogue in dropsy, in a 



170 EMPL ASTRA. 

form not dissimilar to that used at the present day. It was also 
used by the Arabians, and in more modern times by Boerhaave, 
Sydenham and Lister. Quite recently it has been highly recom- 
mended in dropsy by some distinguished English physicians, and 
their practice has been successfully imitated in this country ; 
although the great uncertainty of its operation has repeatedly 
caused it to be abandoned. It has the peculiar property of not 
only purging, but at the same time exciting a febrile action, which 
Lister describes as attended with a throbbing that is felt to the 
fingers' ends. Orfila found that a large dose, given to a dog, 
brought on inflammation of the stomach, but when injected in two 
cases into the cellular texture of the thigh, the rectum was the 
only part of the canal which became inflamed. Hence he con- 
cludes, that the medicine has some peculiar action on that organ. 
Exhibition. The uncertainty arising from the different pre- 
parations of this medicine may be inferred from the circumstance, 
that Fallopius gave it in doses of a drachm, while Dr. Clutter- 
buck found one eighth of a grain to purge violently. The strength 
of any particular parcel ought always to be tested by small doses, 
before it is ventured on in any considerable quantity. Of the 
article imported into this country, I have given from one to two 
grains in a pill three times a day, without any excessive opera- 
tion resulting from it. 



EMPLMTRA. 

Plasters. 

Metallic oxides, particularly those of lead, have the property 
of combining with fixed oils, and producing compounds of a pe- 
culiar nature. The oils lose their unctuous character and fluidity 
at common temperatures, and are converted into a thick, tena- 
cious and adhesive substance, to which the chemical name of 
plaster has been given. In pharmacy the term plaster is used in 
a wider sense, to express various compounds intended for exter- 



EMPLASTRA. 171 

nal application, which are solid at common temperatures and ad- 
hesive at the ordinary heat of the human body ; of whatever in- 
gredients they may be composed. 

Plasters are employed both in surgery and medicine, with a 
view both to the mechanical support which they afford, and to 
the medicinal effect of the ingredients they contain. 

Emplastrum Ammoniaci. Jlmmoniacum Plaster. — The 
union of the vinegar with the ammoniacum produces an adhesive 
compound, which has had some reputation in scrofulous affec- 
tions, but is probably not a remedy of much value, 

Emplastrum Assafcetid^e. Jlssafcetida Plaster. — A very 
disagreeable application, thought by some to be useful when plac- 
ed upon the bowels in flatulent colic and hysteria. 

Emplastrum Ferri. Plaster of Iron. — The name of strength- 
ening Plaster has been given to this compound of the Edinburgh 
College, though there is not much probability that any tonic ef- 
fect is derived from iron thus applied. Strengthening plasters 
have little use, except from the mechanical support they afford. 
In popular language the name is often applied to various irritat- 
ing plasters used as counter stimulants in local diseases. 

Emplastrum Hydrargyri. Mercurial Plaster. — This is 
considered a discutient application in various local complaints', 
particularly in venereal bubo. The mercurial influence it pro- 
duces is feeble, rarely amounting to salivation. 

Emplastrum Plumbi. Lead Plaster. — This is the Emp. ox- 
idi plumbi semivitrei of the Edinburgh College, and the Diachy- 
lon of the old writers. In making this plaster, the only use of 
the water is to keep the other ingredients from rising to too high 
a temperature. As the water boils away, more must be added, 
so as to keep the temperature at about 212°. If, by the acciden- 
tal consumption of all the water, the temperature of the oil be- 
comes elevated, it is not safe, on account of the explosive forma- 



172 EMPLASTRA. 

tion of steam, to add any more water till the mixture is cooled 
again to 212°. At the end of the process the plaster grows white, 
and should be immediately withdrawn from the fire ; for if longer 
exposed to the heat, it turns of a dark colour, owing to the reduc- 
tion of the lead or the scorching of the oil. 

Lead plaster is of a light colour, heavy and adhesive. It is 
the basis of the common adhesive -plaster, and is used alone as a 
desiccative and discutient application, to cover excoriated sur- 
faces and to disperse slight inflammatory tumours. 

Emplastrum Plumbi Subcarbonatis compositum. Com- 
pound Fluster of Subcarbonate of Lead.'— From the character of 
its ingredients, this must resemble the common lead plaster in its 
medical action. It is known sometimes by the name of Graw- 
tier's plaster, 

Emplastrum Resinosum. Resin Plaster. Adhesive Plas- 
ter. — This plaster is extensively used in surgery, as a connecting 
medium for divided parts, and a gentle stimulant for ulcers. It 
forms, in many instances, a substitute for the needle and ligature 
in retaining the edges of wounds together, and uniting the skin 
after surgical operations. It is also employed to retain compres- 
ses in umbilical hernia, and to contract or draw together the 
edges of ulcers. 

It is important that this plaster should possess the highest de- 
gree of adhesiveness, and sufficient solidity to remain firm at the 
temperature of the body. The plaster directed in the American 
Pharmacopceia, and taken from that of the Edinburgh College, is 
not sufficiently firm, at least when made with American resin, to 
form good adhesive straps. Its tenacity may be much increased 
if it is made of equal parts of resin and lead plaster, or of three 
parts of the former to two of the latter. But although these 
proportions form an excellent adhesive plaster, yet the compound 
is too stimulating for ordinary cases of ulcers, and, sometimes, 
even for the cuticle itself. Mr. Baynton, in the treatment of ul- 
cers, employed a compound containing only six drachms of resin 
to a pound of lead plaster. 



ERIGERON PHILADELPHICUM. 173 

Various ingredients, such as turpentines and soft resins, have 
been used to increase the adhesiveness of plasters ; but, like the 
other constituents, they are liable to become hard by age and by 
the action of the litharge. The best rule for securing the adhe- 
siveness of these compounds is, to use them while new, and not to 
spread them a long time before they are wanted. 

Emplastrum Resinosum cantharidum. Resin Plaster, with 
Cantharides. Warm Plaster. — Burgundy pitch acts upon the 
skin of many persons as a rubefacient, but when united with a 
small portion of cantharides, as in the present plaster, its activity 
is very much increased. 



ERIGERON CANADENSE. 

Canada Fleabane. 

This is one of the most common annual weeds of our country, 
and has spread itself by emigration into most parts of Europe. 
The leaves and flowers have a peculiar, strong and acrimonious 
taste. According to Dr. De Puy, it contains not only a volatile 
oil, but tannin and gallic acid, in considerable quantities. It has 
been found very serviceable in diarrhoea, both recent and chronic. 
It operates likewise as a diuretic in dropsical complaints. * The 
powder, in doses of twenty grains, and the infusion, may be used 
as diuretics. As astringents, the decoction and extract, in which 
the acrimony is diminished, are preferable. 



ERIGERON PHILADELPHICUM. 

Philadelphia Fleabane. 

This is also native, and a more showy plant than the preceding. 
It is diuretic, and has been found a useful palliative in some cal- 

* Transactions of the Physico-Medical Society of New- York. I. 
23 



1 74 ERYNGIUM.— ERYTHRONIUM. 

culous affections, taken in infusion or decoction. In most parts 
of the United States, great efficacy is popularly ascribed to a plant 
bearing the name of Scabish or Skevish. This is in some places 
the cultivated Scabious ; in others (Enothera biennis ; in others 
Erigeron Philadelphicum, &c. So great is the uncertainty which 
belongs to vulgar nomenclature. 



ERYNGIUM. 

Button Snake Root. 

The Eryngium aquaticum is a native of the southern states. 
We are told in Mr. Elliott's Botany, that the root is of a pungent, 
bitter and aromatic taste. When chewed, it very sensibly ex- 
cites a flow of saliva. A decoction of it is diaphoretic and expec- 
torant, and sometimes proves emetic. It is preferred by some 
physicians to the Seneca snake root, which it much resembles in 
its effects. 



ERYTHRONIUM. 

Erythronium. 

The Erythronium Jimericanum is an emetic in its recent 
state, producing vomiting in the dose of thirty or forty grains. 
This property is impaired by drying. The aflinity of the plant 
to Colchicum, and some others of known activity, renders it de- 
serving of further investigation. The bulbs should be dug when 
the leaves first appear, before flowering. A pure fsecula may be 
obtained from them. 



EUPATORIUM PERFOLIATUM. 175 

EUPATORIUM PERFOLIATUM. 

Thoroughwort. 

Origin. The Eupatorium perfoliatum is an indigenous ve- 
getable, growing in wet meadows throughout the United States. 
The whole plant is medicinal, but the leaves and flowers are most 
active. 

Qualities. The taste is intensely bitter, accompanied by a 
flavour peculiar to the plant, but without astringency or acrimo- 
ny. A kind of extractive matter appears to contain its sensible 
and medicinal properties, and of this water is an adequate sol- 
vent 

Uses. The medicinal powers of this plant are, such as its 
sensible qualities would seem to indicate, those of a tonic stimu- 
lant. Given in moderate quantities, either in substance, in cold 
infusion or decoction, it promotes digestion, strengthens the vis- 
cera, and restores tone to the system. Like other vegetable bit- 
ters, if given in large quantities, especially in warm infusion or 
decoction, it proves emetic, cathartic and sudorific. Even in 
cold infusion, it brings on diaphoresis more readily than most to- 
nics. It is an efficacious article in the cure of intermittents, and 
is much employed for this use in districts where fever and ague 
prevail. Cures effected by it appear to have been as speedy as 
those from any of the medicines in common use. Thoroughwort has 
been employed in small doses with benefit in other febrile com- 
plaints attended with prostration of strength in their advanced 
stages. Its action upon the skin has acquired for it some confi- 
dence in the treatment of cutaneous diseases. 

Exhibition. As a tonic, twenty or thirty grains of the powder 
may be given in milk or wine ; or two fluidounces of the infu- 
sion. When intended to act as an emetic, a strong decoction may 
be made from an ounce of the plant in a quart of water boiled to 
a pint. The decoction is a disagreeable, but popular and effec- 
tual medicine in catarrhs, rheumatism and febrile attacks. It is 
powerfully emetic, cathartic and sudorific. 



176 EUPHORBIA IPECACUANHA. 

EUPATORIUM TEUCRIFOLIUM. 

Wild Horehound. 

Many of the species of Eupatorium, which nearly resemble E. 
perfoliatum in botanical habit, are likewise similar to it in medi- 
cinal properties. The present species is one of this kind. It is 
tonic, diaphoretic and cathartic, and in small doses sits well on 
the stomach. It is extensively used in the southern states in the 
cure of fever and ague. 



JEUPATORIUM PURPUREUM, 

Gravel Root. 

This is a taller plant than the species already cited. Its 
taste is bitter, astringent, and aromatic. I am informed that 
it operates as a diuretic, and is employed by different country 
physicians as a palliative in dysury and calculous diseases. 



EUPHORBIA IPECACUANHA. 

Ipecacuanha Spurge. 

Origin. This is a low, tufted plant, growing native in sandy 
soils in the middle and southern parts of the United States. It 
was at one time supposed to be the plant, from which the offici- 
nal ipecacuanha is derived. 

Qualities. The root is very large in proportion to the plant, 
fleshy, irregular and branched. When dried, it is of a greyish 



EUPHORBIA IPECACUANHA. 177 

colour outside, and white within. It is light and brittle, without 
a ligneous centre, and has about the hardness of cork. To the 
taste it is sweetish and not particularly unpleasant. It contains 
a substance of the nature of caoutchouc, which is soluble in ether 
and precipitated by alcohol; likewise resin, mucus, and probably 
fsecula. 

Uses. Most of the species of the extensive genus Euphorbia 
are violent emetics and cathartics. The lactescent juice, which 
they exude when wounded, is acrid and virulent, so as to blister 
and ulcerate the skin when externally applied. Taken internal- 
ly in large doses, they produce the violent symptoms, which are 
common to other acrid narcotics. The Euphorbia ipecacuanha 
is milder in its operation than many of the other species, and has 
lately been revived in practice as an effectual emetic. With a 
view of becoming acquainted with the mode of operation of this 
plant, I performed a series of experiments on its action, assisted 
by some medical gentlemen of the Boston Dispensary and Alms- 
house. These trials have led to the conclusion that this root, in 
doses of from ten to twenty grains, is both an emetic and cathar- 
tic ; that it is more active than ipecacuanha, in proportion to the 
number of grains administered ; that in small doses it operates 
with as much ease as most emetics in a majority of instances. If 
it fails, however, at first, it is not so safely repeated as many of 
the emetics in common use. If accumulated in the stomach to 
the amount of two or three scruples, it finally excites active and 
long continued vomiting, attended with a sense of heat, vertigo, 
indistinct vision, and great prostration of strength. Its operation 
seems exactly proportionate to the quantity taken, and the vomit- 
ing is not checked by the powder being thrown off in the first 
efforts of the stomach. 

Exhibition. From ten to twenty grains constitute an emetic, 
to be given at once. If this quantity fails to vomit, it generally 
purges. It may be quickened by a little tartarized antimony, 
but ought not to be repeated to the amount of more than twenty- 
five or thirty grains. 



178 EUPHORBIA COROLLATA, 



EUPHORBIA COROLLATA. 

Large-flowering Spurge. 

Origin. The Euphorbia corollata is a tall species, with a 
live-rayed umbel and white flowers. It grows spontaneously in 
dry fields from Pennsylvania to Carolina. 

Qualities. The soft, brittle texture of the root, and its sweet- 
ish taste, are similar to those of Euphorbia ipecacuanha. Its 
chemical constitution is nearly the same, except that the quanti- 
ty of resin is apparently somewhat greater. 

Uses. This is a very active medicine, of the evacuating class, 
operating in small doses as a cathartic, and in large ones as an 
emetic. It has been thought to possess about twice the strength 
of jalap. It exerts its cathartic efficacy in doses of less than ten 
grains, and if given to the amount of fifteen or twenty, it is as 
sure to vomit as other common emetics in their proper quantities. 
The only inconveniences attending these doses, which have come 
to my knowledge, are, that when given in small quantities, for a ca- 
thartic, it is liable to produce nausea ; and in large ones, suitable 
for an emetic, it has sometimes induced a degree of hypercatharsis. 
But similar inconveniences may occur from jalap and tartarized 
antimony. The effects which large doses of this root may pro- 
duce on the nervous system, I have not had occasion to witness. 
The Euphorbia corollata, like many others of its genus, if appli- 
ed in a contused state to the skin, excites inflammation and vesica- 
tion. Its volatile particles possess a certain degree of virulence, 
so that inflammation of the face has been brought on by handling 
the root. It remains to be ascertained whether the vesicating 
powers of this and the other species are equally definite and ma- 
nageable, with those of the more common epispastic substances. 



EXTRACTA. 1 79 



EXTRACT Jl. 

Extracts. 

Extracts are preparations of a soft consistence, procured by 
evaporating vegetable juices or solutions. The term, in its wid- 
est sense, includes four kinds. 1. — Inspissated juices, prepared 
by pressing out the juice from recent plants, and thickening it by 
evaporation. 2. — Watery extracts, made by evaporating decoc- 
tions of dried or fresh substances. 3. — Alcoholic extracts, pre- 
pared, in like manner, from alcoholic solutions. 4. — Compound 
extracts, in which more than one menstruum is employed, or 
more than one article enters into the composition. The forego- 
ing preparations are employed for different substances, according 
to the state in which they are obtained, the different nature of 
their active principles, and their comparative solubility in differ- 
ent menstrua. 

Extracts should be made in broad, shallow vessels, that the 
evaporation may take place rapidly. To prevent the extract 
from being injured by too great a degree of heat, a w r ater bath or 
steam bath is used, so that the whole evaporation may be con- 
ducted under an equal temperature. If the water be saturated 
with salt, as directed in the Pharmacopceia, it requires a tempe- 
rature somewhat higher than 212° to make it boil, and the extract 
will be formed more rapidly. Alcoholic extracts, however, re- 
quire a lower temperature, and if made in close vessels, with pro- 
per receivers, most of the alcohol may be saved by distillation. 

The ostensible advantage of extracts over other preparations 
is, that they are made only from the soluble parts of vegetables, 
and are free from the inert or ligneous particles. If, therefore, 
they could be prepared without undergoing chemical changes, 
they would be among the most valuable preparations, and would 
present the quintessence, or active parts of medicines, within a 
very small compass. But extracts, as they are usually formed, 
do not fulfil this object, and are liable to various objections. It 



1 80 EXTRACT A. 

often happens, that the active parts of a vegetable are of a volatile 
kind, and are driven off by the heat and exposure used in the pro- 
cess of evaporation. Chemical changes, likewise, take place 
among the constituent principles, so that an aqueous extract can 
seldom if ever be wholly dissolved again in the menstruum with 
which it was originally made. To these may be added another 
objection, that extracts, even when prepared in the same manner, 
are seldom uniform in strength ; that plants, under certain cir- 
cumstances, yield much more soluble matter than under others ; 
that the precise degree to which the evaporation should be carri- 
ed, cannot well be denned in words, and will be differently con- 
strued by different apothecaries. It is on this account that no 
experienced practitioner feels confident in commencing a new 
parcel of the extract of a powerful vegetable, but is obliged to 
feel his way in the first instance with small doses. 

To obviate the objection, which arises from the use of heat in 
the formation of extracts, Mr. Barry has introduced a new method 
of conducting the evaporation at low temperatures, by means of 
the vacuum produced by the air pump. The expense and te- 
diousness of this process is compensated by the goodness of the 
product ; and extracts thus procured are stated to be much more 
powerful than those made in the common way. 

Extracts should be kept in a cellar, or in close vessels, and 
occasionally moistened with alcohol. 

Extractum Aconiti. Extract of Aconite. — This extract 
and the four following are inspissated juices. Their properties 
are the same with those of the narcotic plants from which they 
are derived. The extract of aconite may be given in the dose 
of half a grain to commence, two or three times a day, and gradu- 
ally increased until nausea and dizziness supervene. 

Extractum Belladonna. Extract of deadly Nightshade. 
— This preparation is said to be weaker than the plant in sub- 
stance. Dose one grain, gradually increased to five, in the form 
of pills. 



EXTRACTA. 181 

Extractum Conii. Extract of Hemlock. — This is the most 
common form in which hemlock is administered. A suitable dose 
for commencing is from one to five grains three times a day, to 
be increased at every time of taking it, till nausea, weakness and 
vertigo appear. 

Extractum Hyoscyami. Extract of Henbane. — Given in 
the same manner as extract of hemlock, it is narcotic and laxative. 

Extractum Stramonii. Extract of Thorn Apple. — For the 
properties, see Stramonium. The commencing dose is about one 
grain three times a day, to be increased, if necessary, like the fore- 
going extracts. 

Extractum Anthemidis. Extract of Chamomile. — This 
and the five following extracts are made by evaporating decoc- 
tions. The volatile oil of the chamomile is dissipated in the pro- 
cess, but the bitter property remains. Dose ten or twenty grains. 

Extractum Gentians. Extract of Gentian. — This extract 
is intensely bitter, and is given in doses of ten or twenty grains, 
as a tonic. 

Extractum H^ematoxyli. Extract of Logwood. — This is 
a very beautiful, crimson-coloured extract, of an agreeable, sweet- 
ish, astringent taste. It is given in diarrhcea in doses of from ten 
to thirty grains. 

Extractum Hellebori nigri. Extract of black Helle- 
bore. — This is seemingly not a judicious preparation of black 
hellebore, the activity of which is much injured by heat. 

Extractum Juglandis. Extract of Butternut. — Extract of 
butternut is an excellent laxative for habitually costive habits, op- 
erating with mildness and ease. Dose from ten to twenty-five 
grains in pills. 

24 



182 EXTRACTA. 

Extractum QuAssiiE. Extract of Quassia. — Quassia im- 
parts its bitterness to water, which quality becomes highly con- 
centrated in the extract. Dose, as a tonic, from ten to twenty 



Extractum Cinchona. Extract of Peruvian Bark. — In 
forming this extract, both alcohol and water are employed as sepa- 
rate menstrua, so that all the constituents of bark, which are solu- 
ble in either of these fluids, may be extracted. If the evaporation 
could be conducted so as not to produce chemical changes, this 
would be the best preparation of bark. But on account of the 
actual occurrence of such changes, the extract is not found to 
possess powers at all proportionate to the expense and tedious- 
ness of its preparation. The dose is from ten to forty grains in 
pills. 

ExtractuxM Colocynthidis compositum. Compound Ex- 
tract of Colocynth. — This is an excellent combination of powerful 
cathartics judiciously prepared and corrected. Lose, from five 
to fifteen grains in pills. Under different variations, it has long 
been known in the pharmacopceias. 

Extractum Jalaps. Extract of Jalap. — This extract of 
the London College contains the soluble parts of jalap, which are 
extracted either by alcohol or water. It is seldom used in 
comparison with the powdered substance. Dose from ten to 
twenty grains. 

Extractum Podophylli. Extract of May Apple. — This is 
prepared in the same way with extract of jalap, and is well cal- 
culated to concentrate the active ingredients of the plant. Dose 
from five to fifteen grains. A very good extract of Podophyllum 
is prepared and sold by the Shakers. 

Extractum Sambuci. Extract of Elder. — This extract 
partakes of the nature of a confection, and may be given as a de- 
mulcent and laxative in the dose of two or three scruples. 



FERRUM. 183 



FERRUM. 

Iron. 

Origin. No metal is so abundantly diffused in nature as iron. 
The minerals which contain it, both in its metallic state and com- 
bined with sulphur, oxygen and acids, are exceedingly numerous 
and frequent. Besides its common occurrence in earths and 
rocks, it is held in solution by mineral waters ; it enters largely 
into the composition of meteoric stones ; and it circulates in the 
blood of animals and the sap of vegetables. 

Qualities. Pure iron is of a blueish-white colour, a slight 
taste and odour, of great hardness, malleable, ductile and tena- 
cious. Its specific gravity is 7.70. For its fusion it requires an 
intense temperature, equal to 158° of Wedge wood's pyrometer. 
It combines with carbon and forms steel. It has the property of 
welding at a high heat. It is strongly attracted by the magnet, 
acquires itself the magnetic power, and in the form of steel re- 
tains it permanently. 

Medical properties and uses. Iron, in its metallic state, 
if taken into the stomach, is speedily oxidized, and the decompo- 
sition it produces in the water present in that viscus, is evinced 
by eructations, containing hydrogen gas. Its oxide is also in part 
dissolved, so that it re-acts on the alimentary substances, and pro- 
duces a black colour in the feecal discharges. Iron was formerly 
supposed to be absorbed in large quantities into the blood, and to 
afford the basis of the colouring matter contained in that fluid. 
This opinion has been called in question by later chemists, and 
the experiments of Brande, Berzelius and Vauquelin, have shewn, 
that the colouring matter is an animal substance, and not of a 
metallic nature. Mr. Brande asserts, that the colouring matter, 
when burnt, affords no more iron than the serum or any other 
constituent of the blood. Berzelius, who does not agree in this 
result, was, nevertheless, only able to obtain two or three grains 
of oxide and subphosphate of iron, by the incineration of 400 
grains of pure colouring matter. 



184 FERRUM. 

It is not unreasonable to suppose, that the great reputation 
which has been given to iron as a tonic medicine, has been, in 
part at least, derived from reasoning a priori ; and from the be- 
lief that a substance, which was supposed to enter extensively in- 
to the animal composition, and to contribute essentially to the 
bloom and healthiness of its appearance, must be useful in re- 
pairing occasional deficiencies of strength and waste of substance. 
The powers commonly ascribed to it in medical books, are those 
of communicating firmness to the animal fibre, when it has become 
weak and lax, of restoring a florid complexion in the place of a 
pale one, of raising the pulse, and of generally promoting the 
healthy functions. These properties, to a certain degree, it may 
possess. Yet I cannot but believe, that the tonic powers of iron 
have been somewhat overrated, and that conclusions have been 
drawn rather from what it should, than from what it actually does 
effect. There is no doubt that some of the salts of iron are as- 
tringent and considerably stimulant. But the simpler prepara- 
tions appear to me to be rather inert medicines, and all of them 
are tonics of a secondary class. No physician relies on chaly- 
beates to raise his patient from any sudden prostration or danger- 
ous debility, such as that produced by fevers in their advanced 
stage. And in cases of chronic relaxation, to which iron is con- 
sidered as particularly adapted, it is no doubt very often given, 
for a great length of time, without any apparent benefit. I can- 
not but suspect, that in diseases of debility, where iron is recom- 
mended, the merit of cures, which occasionally take place, be- 
longs in a great measure to the invigorating regimen, the free 
exercise, open air and cold bath, which are so generally prescrib- 
ed at the same time. 

The principal complaints, in which iron is employed, are 
chlorosis and amenorrhea, dyspepsia, hypochondriasis, hysteria, 
leucorrhea, gleet, paralysis, scrofula and rickets. These are all 
diseases of a chronic nature, the cure of which is generally slow, 
is occasionally the work of time alone, or is left unsettled among 
a multitude of remedies. One thing is certain, that in these ob- 
stinate diseases, it is by no means uncommon for all remedies to 
fail, and from this reproach iron cannot plead an exemption. 



FERRI CARBONAS PRJTARATUS. 185 

Although the oxides and carbonates of iron are to be regarded 
as tonics of a secondary class, yet they have the advantage of be- 
ing perfectly innocent, and may be taken in moderate quantities, 
for any length of time, without injury. In large doses, however, or 
in inflammatory cases, they may occasion anxiety, oppression, 
and pains in the head, stomach and bowels. 

Exhibition. Iron is administered, according to the indica- 
tion to be fulfilled, in the form of one or other of its preparations ; 
which see. 



FERRI LIMATURA PURIFICATA. 

Purified Filings of Iron. 

This is the common form, in which metallic iron is adminis- 
tered; but as the filings procured from workshops cannot be 
wholly purified by the magnet from extraneous particles, which 
happen to adhere to them, it is better to make them at once, by 
filing a piece of clean, soft iron. 



FERRI OXIDUM RUBRUM. 

Bed Oxide of Iron. 

This preparation requires to be washed with water, to free it 
from portions of deliquescent sulphate, and then dried upon bib- 
ulous paper. It is a subtonic, but not much used, unless as a 
pharmaceutical agent. 



FERRI CARBONAS PR^PARATUS. 

Prepared Carbonate of Iron. Bust of Iron. 

This article is a peroxide of iron, combined with a portion, 
greater or less, of carbonic acid. It is of a well-known, red 



186 AMMONLE & FERRI MURIAS. 

colour, a somewhat styptic taste, and is sparingly soluble in wa- 
ter. It is commonly reputed to be tonic and emmenagogue, but 
is not entitled to very high confidence in these respects. Admin- 
istered in large doses, it has been highly commended by Dr. 
Carmichael in cancer, and more lately by Mr. Hutchinson in tic 
douloureux. The last writer thinks that, to insure its full effect, it 
should be given in doses of two scruples or a drachm, two or three 
times in a day. 



FERRI CARBONAS PR^CIPITATUS. 

Precipitated Carbonate of Iron. 

This article is said to consist of protoxide, peroxide and sub- 
carbonate of protoxide of iron, in various proportions. It is a 
chocolate-brown powder, with a somewhat styptic taste. As it 
resembles the preceding article in its effects, it may be consider- 
ed as superfluous. 



FERRI ACETAS. 

Acetate of Iron. 

This preparation of the Dublin College is not much in use 
except to form the tincture of acetate of iron. 



AMMONIiE & FERRI MURIAS. 

Muriate of Ammonia and Iron* 

This composition requires to be made by a quick heat, and, 
after trituration, to be kept in glass-stopped bottles. It is, how- 



FERRI PHOSPHAS.— FERRI PRUSSIAS. 137 

ever, very liable to vary in its character, and is not much used. 
Dose from two to ten grains, as a tonic and aperient. 



FERRI PHOSPHAS. 

Phosphate of Iron. 

The protophosphate of iron, produced in the process of the 
Pharmacopoeia, is a blue, insoluble and nearly insipid powder. 
It has been given in various diseases of chronic debility, such as 
dyspepsia, amenorrhea, scrofula, rickets, &c. in doses of from ten 
to forty grains. It has excited a considerable share of attention 
in this country, but my own observations have not hitherto led me 
to repose more confidence in it than in other chalybeates. 



FERRI PRUSSIAS. 

Prussiate of Iron. 

Common Prussian blue is introduced under the above name in- 
to the Pharmacopoeia, being the material from which Prussic acid 
is obtained. It is a combination, according to Mr. Porrett, of the 
Ferrocyanic acid with iron, containing, as it is usually prepared, 
alumine and various impurities. Prussian blue is commonly made 
by calcining ox-blood with potash, dissolving the soluble parts of 
the residue in water, and adding to this solution a definite quanti- 
ty of alum, and green vitriol or sulphate of iron. A dark green- 
ish precipitate is formed, which, when washed with muriatic acid 
to remove the superfluous oxide of iron, assumes a beautiful blue 
colour. It is extensively used as a pigment. 



188 FERRI SULPHAS. 

FERRI SULPHAS. 

Sulphate of Iron, 

Origin. The impure sulphate of iron, which forms the green 
vitriol or copperas of commerce, is generally procured by the 
spontaneous oxidizement of iron pyrites, and subsequent lixivia- 
tion and evaporation. As it is usually contaminated by the pres- 
ence of other metals and foreign substances, the sulphate of iron, 
intended for medical use, should be formed immediately from its 
constituents by dissolving soft iron in diluted sulphuric acid, and 
evaporating till crystals are formed. 

Qualities. These crystals are transparent, green, rhomboidal 
prisms, soluble in two parts of cold, and in less than their own 
weight of boiling water, and insoluble in alcohol. They have a 
strong, styptic, acidulous taste. They effloresce in the air, and, 
when exposed to heat, undergo aqueous fusion. At a high 
temperature, the acid is driven off, and a red peroxide of iron is 
formed, which is the colcothar of commerce. Sulphate of iron is 
precipitated from its solutions by alkalies, various alkaline salts, 
and others, the bases of which form insoluble compounds with 
sulphuric acid. Such salts are, therefore, its in compatibles. 

Uses. Sulphate of iron is strongly astringent, and commonly 
considered tonic. It has been found one of the most useful medi- 
cines in menorrhagia and leucorrhea, and if there is no active 
local inflammation attendant on these diseases, we have few me- 
dicines more entitled to confidence. 

Exhibition. Its usual dose is from one to four grains in a 
pill. Larger quantities are apt to excite nausea, and pain in the 
stomach and bowels. 



LIQUOR FERRI ALKALINI.— FICUS. 183 



FERRI TARTRAS. 

Tartrate of Iron. 

* 

This preparation, taken from the Dublin Collegers apparently 
a tartrate of iron and potass, unless it should appear that the su- 
pertartrate of potass used in the process performs the part of a 
simple acid, as it does in the formation of tartarized antimony. 
The salt is of a brownish-green colour, a slightly styptic taste, 
very soluble in water, and somewhat deliquescent in the air. It 
has been preferred to other chalybeates, in certain cases, on ac- 
count of its mild taste, ready solubility, and supposed diuretic 
power. Dose, from ten to thirty grains, dissolved in distilled 
water. 



LIQUOR FERRI ALKALINI. 

Solution of Mkaline Iron, 

The great number of preparations of iron already detailed, are 
sufficient to render the present one superfluous. The difficulty 
of preparing it with uniformity, or of exhibiting it without decom- 
position, are sufficient reasons for the neglect which has common- 
ly attended it. Although retained in the London Pharmacopoeia, 
it has very few advocates at the present day. Dose, half or a 
whole fluid rachm. 



FICUS. 

Figs. 

Origin. The fig tree is a native of Asia, but was introduced 
into Europe in the early ages. It succeeds well in the southern 
25 



1 90 FOENICULUM.— FRASERA. 

parts of the United States, particularly about New Orleans. The 
structure of the young fruit is very curious, being a hollow recep- 
tacle, with the male and female flowers lining its inside. 

Qualities. Dried figs have a peculiar, sweet taste, and 
abound in sugar and mucilage. 

Uses. They are highly nutritious, and were much used as 
food by the ancients. They were particularly used as the pre- 
paratory diet of the Athletse. To most persons they are mode- 
rately laxative, but in large quantities produce flatulence and 
griping. This effect may be, in a great measure, obviated by 
taking the internal portion only, and rejecting the skin. Figs 
enter into some demulcent and laxative preparations, and are 
used as topical applications to promote suppuration. 



FCENICULUM. 

Fennel 

The Jlnethum famiculum is a biennial, umbelliferous plant of 
Europe, easily cultivated in gardens. The seeds have a warm, 
aromatic taste, depending on a volatile oil, and less agreeable 
than that of caraway and anise. They are used as a stomachic 
and carminative. 



FRASERA. 

American Columbo. 

The Frasera Walter i of Michaux is a tall, rank, perennial, 
plant, growing spontaneously in the southern and western parts 
of the United States. It is the Swertia Frasera of Smith in 
Rees' Cyclopedia. The root, which is large and fleshy, has a 
considerable degree of bitterness, and, when cut in slices and 



GALBANUM.— GALL^. 1 9 1 

dried, has some resemblance to the imported columbo. Owing 
to its comparative cheapness, it has been substituted in druggists' 
shops for columbo, to which it is incomparably inferior in bitter- 
ness. (See Columbo.) It is, however, an article of considerable 
tonic power, and, when fresh, is said to be emetic and cathartic. 



GALBANUM. 

Galbanum. 

The Bubon galbanum is an umbellate plant of Africa and Syria. 
The gum resin is the concrete juice, procured by cutting across 
the stem near the root. 

Qualities. When of good quality, it is in ductile masses 
composed of distinct, whitish tears, agglutinated together by a 
pale-brown, yellowish substance. The odour is fetid, and the 
taste bitter and acrid. It is partly soluble in water, and partly 
in alcohol, and appears to contain gum, resin, extractive and 
volatile oil. 

Uses. It possesses the properties common to the fetid gums, 
and is considered stimulant, antispasmodic and expectorant. 
Externally it is sometimes employed in plasters to promote sup- 
puration. Its dose is from ten grains to a drachm. 



GAIAjIE. 

Galls, 

Origin. Most species of oak, when stimulated by the punc- 
ture of an insect, and the deposition of its egg, produce a kind of 
spherical excrescence, which serves as the habitation and food of 
the young larva when hatched. These excrescences are known 
by the general name of galls, and are produced on various parts 



192 GALLJE. 

of the trees by different insects of the generk Cynips and Di~ 
plolepis. The best galls, and those which predominate in com- 
merce, are brought from Smyrna, Aleppo and* the neighboring 
countries. The Edinburgh College considers them as produced 
on the Quercus cerris, a tree growing in the south of Europe. 
The French traveller Olivier informs us, that the Asiatic galls 
are the product of a species of oak, which he names Quercus 
infectoria, and that the puncturing insect is the Viplolepis 
gallce tinctorim of Geoffroy. Both the insect and the gall have 
been observed in France, 

Qualities. Good galls are round, of a dark colour, and stud- 
ded with tubercles. They are of various sizes, under that of a 
cherry. They are hard, brittle, and exhibit an irregular and 
partly resinous fracture. Their taste is highly astringent, and 
somewhat bitter and acrid. Those which have been perforated 
by the insect are of an inferior quality, their central portion be- 
ing consumed. The chemical constituents, which give to galls 
their chief value, are tannin and gallic acid. Besides these, they 
contain, according to Davy, extractive and mucilage ; according 
to Branchi, a concrete, volatile oil ; and according to Braconnot 
another acid, which he calls ellctgic acid. Chemists, however, 
are not agreed as to their entire composition. It is obvious, that 
the presence or absence of the larva, as well as its stage of growth, 
must materially affect the analysis. 

Most metallic salts produce precipitates with infusion of galls, 
consisting of the metallic oxide, tannin and gallic acid. It is 
questionable how far the astringency of the galls is affected by 
such combinations. The sulphuric and muriatic acids, lime wa- 
ter, and the alkaline carbonates, also, occasion precipitates. Ge- 
latin and starch combine immediately with the tannin of the galls. 

Uses. Galls are among the most powerful vegetable astrin- 
gents. They are sometimes given internally in doses of a 
scruple ; but their chief medicinal use is as a local remedy in the 
form of gargles, and in the ointment ; which see. On account of 
the purple or black colour, which they strike with salts of iron, 
they are extensively consumed in dyeing and ink making. For 
the latter purpose, no substitute can be safely used instead of 
(hem. 



GAMBOGIA. 193 

GAMBOGIA. 

Gamboge. 

Origin. The Stalagmitis cambogioides, a tree of Siam and 
Ceylon, affords the common gamboge of commerce. The yellow 
juice of this tree is collected in drops by breaking off the young 
shoots and by wounding the bark, and is afterwards dried and 
formed into rolls. The Garcinia cambogia of Willdenow, and 
some other plants, afford, likewise, a juice, from which a species of 
gamboge is prepared. 

Qualities. Gamboge is in solid masses, of a dull orange 
colour, which turns to a most brilliant yellow when moistened. 
It has little taste, unless held a long time in the mouth, when it 
discovers some acrimony. When heated it melts, and if the heat 
be increased, it burns with a white flame, leaving a light, porous 
coal. Alcohol dissolves nine tenths of its substance, and sulphu- 
ric ether six tenths, producing tinctures of a bright golden yellow. 
It is soluble in strong solutions of pure ammonia and potass, giv- 
ing them an orange-red colour. The watery solution of gamboge 
contains about two thirds of the substance, but remains turbid. 
The addition of alcohol does not occasion a precipitate, but, on 
the contrary, renders the solution clear. The solution is not 
readily affected by any of the metallic salts. About one fifth of 
gamboge is supposed to consist of gummy, and four fifths of 
resinous parts. 

Uses. Gamboge is a very powerful cathartic, and is usefully 
employed in combination with other articles of its class. When 
given alone, in a full dose, it is apt to excite vomiting, on account 
of its ready solubility in the stomach. It has long been employed 
as a drastic purge in cases of taenia, and also as a hydragogue 
in dropsy, combined with squills and supertartrate of potass. 

Exhibition. Practitioners are not agreed as to the best mode 
of exhibition for this article ; some preferring the solution, others 
the pill. It is least apt to vomit when given, in combination with 



194 GAULTHERIA.— GENTIANA. 

other cathartics, in small closes, separated by intervals. From 
three to six grains form an active purge. Doses considerably 
larger have been given. 

In the arts, gamboge is much prized as a yellow pigment in 
water colours, and an ingredient in lacquers for polished metals. 



GAULTHERIA. 

Partridge Berry. 

The Gaultheria procumbens is a well-known, creeping ever- 
green, found in woody and mountainous tracts throughout the 
United States. Its taste is astringent and aromatic, and has been 
compared to that of orange flowers. It exactly resembles that of 
black birch (Betula lenta.) The medical properties of this plant 
are not unlike those of cinnamon, being a warm, aromatic astrin- 
gent, particularly useful in the secondary stage of diarrhcea. It 
is popularly considered an emmenagogue. The dose may be one 
or two scruples ; but a tincture and infusion are more convenient 
forms. The volatile oil of this article is officinal. 



GENTIANA. 

Gentian. 

Origin. The Gentiana lutea is a perennial plant of Europe, 
growing on the Alps, Appenines and Pyrenees. Its roots form 
the gentian of commerce, and are brought to this country in 
pieces of various length and shape, twisted and wrinkled, and 
covered with a brownish-grey cuticle. 

Qualities. These roots have an intense and durable bitter 
taste. They contain resin, bitter extractive, a portion of volatile 
oil, and tannin ; likewise some mucilage. Proof spirit, or diluted 



GENTIANA CATESB^CI. 195 

alcohol, is the best menstruum. A substance called gentiania, 
in some respects analogous to the vegetable alkalies, has been 
elicited from gentian. It does not, however, restore vegetable 
blues previously reddened by an acid, and is not poisonous. It 
is of a yellow colour, crystallizes in very minute needles, is 
soluble in alcohol, but sparingly so in water. 

Adulteration. A root possessing narcotic properties, sup- 
posed to belong to some species of aconite, has been repeatedly 
observed among parcels of gentian. It is known by its whitish 
colour, and its comparative want of bitterness. 

Uses. This drug is universally known as a powerful, bitter 
tonic. It is chiefly used with a view to excite the stomach, 
having apparently less influence on the system at large than some 
other medicines of its class. Given in small doses, it strengthens 
the appetite, and assists digestion. In large doses it excites 
vomiting and purging, but is too unpalatable to be given for these 
purposes. Its chief employment is in dyspeptic complaints, 
though it has been given in most of the common diseases of 
debility. 

Exhibition. A dose of the powder, sufficient to display its 
tonic effect, is from ten to twenty grains. The tincture, however, 
is more commonly used. 



GENTIANA CATESBiEI. 

Blue Gentian. 

Of various native species of gentian, which our country affords, 
this approaches most nearly to the officinal plant in bitterness. 
Its virtue appears to reside chiefly in an extractive principle, so- 
luble in water and alcohol. It has also a little resin. Like the 
imported gentian, it is an active tonic, invigorating the stomach, 
and giving relief in complaints arising from indigestion. It ap- 
pears to possess much reputation in the southern states, to which 
its growth is principally confined. 



1 96 GERANIUM.— GEUM* 

GERANIUM. 

CranesbilL 

Origin. The Geranium maculatum is a native plant, com- 
mon about woods and fences, and conspicuous for its large, purple 
flowers in May and June. 

Qualities. The root is horizontal, nearly as large as the 
little finger, tortuous and full of knobs. To the taste it is a pure 
and powerful astringent. It abounds with tannin, which is im- 
parted in great quantities both to the tincture and watery solu- 
tion, and appears to be the basis of its medicinal efficacy. 

Uses and Exhibition. It is applicable to all the purposes 
of vegetable astringents, being surpassed by very few articles 
of that class. In various debilitating discharges, particularly 
from the bowels, it has afforded relief, when the disease has 
been of a nature to require astringent medicines. In aphthous 
eruptions, and ulcerations of the mouth and throat, a strong de- 
coction has been found beneficial as a gargle. A dose of the 
powder is twenty or thirty grains, and of a saturated tincture 
from one to two fluidrachms. The extract of this root is a very 
powerful astringent, and may be substituted for kino and catechu. 



GEUM. 

Water Averts. 

The Geum rivale, which affords this root, is common to Eu- 
rope and America. With us it grows in wet, spongy meadows, 
and is made remarkable by its dark nodding flowers. It is called 
by the common names of Chocolate root and Evan root, the last 
being a corruption of the English name Averts. This root is one of 



GILLENIA. 197 

our strongest astringents. It is a popular remedy in hemoptysis, 
but is improper in the active forms of that disease. In uterine 
hemorrhage, and in ieucorrhea, it is a more appropriate medicine. 
In diarrhoea it is also administered with very good success, pro- 
vided the bowels do not require evacuating medicines. Kalm 
tells us, that it was largely used in the state of New York for the 
cure of intermittents ; and it appears that the same practice has 
been pursued in the north of Europe with tolerable success. In 
this disease, however, the Geum is inferior to the tonic barks. 
The dose is one or two scruples three times a day ; but a decoc- 
tion is a more common form of exhibition. Some dyspeptic and 
hectical patients take a weak decoction as a substitute for coffee 
and tea. 



GILLENIA. 

Gillenicit 

Origin. The Gillenia trifoliata is a native, perennial plant, 
more generally known to cultivators of the American Materia 
Medica by the Linneean name of Spircea trifoliata. It grows 
in and about woods, in light soils, throughout most parts of the 
Union, excepting the eastern states. 

Qualities. The root is much branched and knobby. It con- 
sists of a woody portion invested with a thick bark, which, when 
dry, is brittle, and very bitter to the taste. The predominant 
soluble ingredients appear to be, a bitter extractive matter and 
resin. When boiled in water, it imparts to it a beautiful red, 
wine colour, and an intensely bitter taste. The tincture deposits 
an abundant resinous precipitate on the addition of water. 

Uses and Exhibition. This article is one of the most prom- 
inent indigenous emetics, resembling ipecacuanha in its opera- 
tion, but requiring a larger dose. It sometimes fails to produce 
vomiting, especially if the portion used has become old. Thirty 
grains of the bark of the root, recently dried and powdered, are a 
suitable dose for an emetic. In doses so small as not to excite 
26 



198 GLYCYRRHIZ.E EXTRACTUM. 

nausea, it has been thought useful as a tonic. The Gillenia stip- 
ulacea of the western states possesses properties similar to those 
of this species. 



GLYCYRRHIZiE RADIX. 

Liquorice Boot. 

The liquorice plant grows native in the south of Europe, and 
may easily be cultivated in almost any part of the United States. 
The root is perennial, and, when raised in gardens from seed, it 
is of the proper size to be dug in the fall of the third year. 

Qualities. The dried root has a sweet, mucilaginous, rather 
sickly taste. It contains a peculiarly modified saccharine matter, 
which does not easily crystallize nor ferment, on which last ac- 
count it is sometimes preferred for imparting a sweet taste to 
malt liquors, being less subject than sugar to turn sour. It also 
contains mucus. Alcohol extracts the saccharine parts; boiling 
water both the saccharine and mucilaginous. The powder has 
a brownish-yellow colour, and is sometimes adulterated with flour 
and other foreign substances, which may be distinguished by the 
weakened or altered taste and colour. 

Uses. The medicinal properties of this root are those of a sim- 
ple demulcent. It is given in catarrh, strangury, nephritis, &c. 
in various compound formulae. The dry powder is a convenient 
medium for rolling pills. 



GLYCYRRHIZ^E EXTRACTUM. 

Extract of Liquorice. 

This extract is prepared from the preceding article, in the 
countries where it grows, by evaporating the decoction of that 
root. It occurs in its crude state and refined ; the latter form 
being given it by re-dissolving, straining and evaporating the ori- 



GRANATUM.— GUAIACI LIGNUM. 1 99 

ginal extract. This article is moderately hard, of a brownish- 
black colour and sweet taste. It is applied to the same purposes 
as the root ; but being entirely soluble, it is more convenient to be 
chewed in catarrhal affections. 



GRANATUM. 

Pomegranate. 

The pomegranate tree is a native of Barbary, and is cultivated 
in the south of Europe and in most warm climates. The rind of the 
fruit is astringent, and is given in colliquative diarrhoea, and to 
check the night sweats of hectic fever. It is applied in decoction 
as a gargle in sore throats, and an injection in leucorrhea. Dose, 
in powder, half a drachm. 



GUAIACI LIGNUxM. 

Guaiacum Wood. Called Lignum Vitce. 

Origin. The tree, which produces this wood, grows in the 
West Indies and tropical parts of America. It attains to the 
height of forty feet, and its trunk is four or five feet in circum- 
ference. 

Qualities. Lignum vitse is brought in logs or masses, con- 
sisting of a dark-greenish heart, covered with a yellowish albur- 
num. It is exceedingly hard, sinks in water, has little smell, 
except when heated, and possesses a bitter and pungent taste. 

Uses. The medicinal properties of the wood are principally 
derived from its resinous particles, and resemble those of the 
following article. It is, however, used as an ingredient in some 
decoctions, to which it imparts a certain portion of extractive 
matter of a tonic and stimulating nature. It was formerly 
much celebrated as an antisyphilitic. The hardness and solidity 
of lignum vitse render it of great importance in the mechanic arts, 



200 GUAIACI RESINA. 

GUAIACI RESINA. 

Resin of Guaiacum. 

Origin. This is a product of the same tree with the foregoing 
article, and is obtained in different ways. The purest sort ex- 
udes in the form of tears, and concretes on the trunk. The more 
common kind is obtained by making incisions in the trunk, from 
which the juice flows ; or by boring holes longitudinally through 
the logs, and placing one end upon a fire, so that the resin, as it 
melts, may run out and be collected at the other extremity. 

Qualities. This substance is a kind of resin, agreeing 
with other substances of that class in its leading properties, but 
differing in a few peculiarities, which have induced some chem- 
ists to consider it as a substance sui generis. It is of a greenish- 
brown colour, brittle, fusible with a moderate heat, and inflam- 
mable. Its powder is of a pale grey, but becomes green on 
exposure to the air and light, a change which Dr. Wollaston 
ascribed to the agency of light, and Mr. Brande to the absorption 
of oxygen. Water dissolves nearly one tenth part of common 
guaiacum, which part proves to be extractive in a state of mixture 
with the resin. Alcohol dissolves 95, and ether 40 parts in a 
hundred. Alkalies and their carbonates in solution dissolve it. 
The strong mineral acids dissolve it in greater or less quantities, 
and the solution in nitric acid, on evaporation, affords oxalic acid. 
Guaiacum, then, differs from pine resin in changing its colour on 
exposure to air and light, and in producing oxalic acid from its 
solution in the nitric. 

Uses. The resin of guaiacum is a strong stimulant, diapho- 
retic and purgative. In substance it has little taste at first ; but 
when held long in the mouth, or swallowed, it stimulates the 
tongue and fauces in a powerful manner. It excites a sense of 
warmth in the stomach, and by degrees in the whole system, 
bringing on a free perspiration, if the body is kept externally 
warm ; or, under different circumstances, exciting the kidnies. 



HJEMATOXYLON. 201 

In large quantities it invariably purges. Guaiacum is one of the 
most efficacious remedies in chronic rheumatism, and hardly 
yields to any internal medicine in that complaint. In the se- 
condary symptoms of syphilis, which attend the advanced stages of 
that disease, and remain after the full action of mercury ; such as 
pains in the bones, attended with a thickened state of the peri- 
osteum and ligaments, indolent ulcerations, &c. it is a remedy 
of decided utility. It has been also employed with benefit in 
cutaneous diseases, and in various local pains or inflammations 
partaking of a rheumatic nature. 

Exhibition. The best mode of administering guaiacum is in 
minute powder mixed with jelly or mucilage. In chronic rheu- 
matism, from a scruple to a drachm should be taken three times a 
day, combined, if necessary, with a third or half a grain of opium 
to moderate purging. This form is preferable to that of the 
tincture, which throws down an adhesive precipitate when mixed 
with any watery vehicle. 



H^MATOXYLON. 

Logwood. 



-» 



Origin. As its specific name indicates, the logwood tree is a 
native of Campeachy. It also grows about the Bay of Honduras* 
in some parts of South America, and the West India Islands. It 
is a prickly tree, and proves very troublesome to the planters by 
its rapid multiplication. 

Qualities. The heart-wood is compact, heavy, of a deep red 
colour, and a sweetish, astringent, and rather pleasant taste. 
Water and alcohol extract its colour, but distilled water acts less 
readily than common water, in which salts are present. Alkaiies 
deepen the colour, while acids change it to yellow. Logwood, 
according to Chevreul, contains a volatile oil, tannin, two kinds 
of colouring matter, one of which is soluble in water and alcohol, 
the other in alcohol only. 



202 HELLEBORUS NIGER. 

Uses. Logwood is only useful as a mild astringent and a col- 
ouring drug. Some practitioners employ it in complaints arising 
from laxity of the bowels, but its use has never been extensive. 
As a colouring material in the arts, its properties are well known. 



HELLEBORUS FCETIDUS. 

Bear sf out. 

This is an European plant, having a fetid odour, and a bitter 
and highly acrid taste. It is strongly emetic and cathartic, and 
so uncertain as not to be always safe. It is sometimes used as 
an anthelminthic, in doses of from six grains to a scruple. 



HELLEBORUS NIGER. 

Black Hellebore. 

Black hellebore is a native of the mountainous parts of south- 
ern Europe. The root is irregular, knotted, black without and 
whitish within. It has a bitterish, acrid taste, leaving a durable 
sense, like that of excoriation, upon the tongue. The acrimony 
is of a volatile nature, is impaired by age, and is retained by the 
distilled water. Its medicinal powers are communicated to both 
water and alcohol, but most to the latter. By late experi- 
ments it appears, that the activity of black hellebore resides 
chiefly in the volatile matter. Black hellebore is a drastic purga- 
tive, formerly much celebrated in obstinate chronic diseases, 
particularly in mania and dropsy. The ancients considered 
hellebore a specific for madness ; but the species which they 
employed was probably the H. orientalis. Black hellebore, in 
small doses, is considered a useful emmenagogue. The root, as 
it is kept by druggists in this country, is often impaired by age, 



HERACLEUM.— HEUCHERA .— HORDEUM. 203 

and sometimes altogether inert, as I have had occasion to wit- 
ness. Of the freshly dried root, ten or fifteen grains purge active- 
ly, and two or three may be given as an eramenagogue or altera- 
tive. 



HERACLEUM. 

blaster wort. 

The Heracleum lanatum is one of our largest native umbellate 
plants, growing frequently to the height of a man, with a stalk 
more than an inch in thickness. Its taste is strong and acrid. 
The bruised root or leaves, externally applied, excite rubefaction. 
Internally used, this article has been recommended in epilepsy. 
It appears to me to possess a virose character, and should be 
used with caution, especially when gathered from a watery or 
damp situation. 



HEUCHERA. 

Mum Root 

The Heuchera cortusa of Michaux, is a native plant, growing 
in woods from New England to Carolinao The root is one of 
the strongest vegetable astringents. As such, it has been em- 
ployed in various complaints, to which astringents are adapted, 
and favourable reports are made of its operation. Hitherto it 
has been more known as an external application than as an inter- 
nal remedy. 



HORDEUM. 

Barley. 

As in most of the Cerealia, which have been cultivated from 
gemote antiquity, the native country of barley is uncertain. It is 



204 HUMULUS. 

now raised in the northern parts of Europe for bread, and in 
more temperate climates as a material from which malt liquors 
and ardent spirits are obtained. The principal constituent of 
this grain is fsecula or starch, with which are united small portions 
of gluten, sugar, oil, and traces of various other substances. The 
amount of gluten is not sufficient to give the degree of tenacity 
requisite for light or fermented bread, like that produced by 
wheat and rye. Hence it is seldom used for bread, when better 
grains can be obtained. Pearl barley, which is kept by the 
apothecaries, is the internal portion of the seed, deprived of its 
rough, external coat by grinding, and brought to the state of 
round, smooth, pearl-coloured grains. From the nature of its 
constituents, it is almost wholly soluble in boiling water. The 
decoction, or, more properly, solution, is a useful demulcent, and 
a nutritious and inoffensive diet for the sick. 



HUMULUS. 

Hop. 

Origin. The hop vine is apparently a native of America, as 
well as of Europe, being found wild in remote and uncultivated 
parts of the interior, even upon the banks of the Mississippi and 
Missouri. The fruit is a kind of cone or strobile, which, as the 
female plant is often cultivated alone, is in such cases destitute of 
seeds. 

Qualities. Hops have an aromatic, heavy odour, and a strong, 
bitter taste. The bitter quality resides in a yellow powder, 
which is secreted in the form of transparent dots, of a resinous 
appearance, at the base of the scales of the cone. This powder 
may be separated by rubbing and sifting. It is moderately adhe- 
sive, when warm, inflammable and very bitter. According to Dr. 
Ives, it contains resin, wax, extractive matter, and some other 
substances. It is the seat of all the important properties of the 
hops, and may be substituted for them with much advantage in 



HYDRARGYRUM. 205 

an economical point of view. Alcohol is its most perfect solvent, 
though water extracts its bitter principle. 

Uses. Hops have long been an ingredient in malt liquors, on 
account of the agreeable flavour they communicate, and also from 
a preservative quality, which they are supposed to exert in pre- 
venting acescency in these liquids. In such combinations, as well 
as in more simple fermented decoctions, they are tonic and sa- 
lubrious. Besides the bitter and tonic property, which is commu- 
nicated to water, hops contain a certain narcotic property, which 
resides in the resinous part, and is extracted by alcohol. It 
operates as an anodyne and soporific, but in a much more feeble 
degree than opium. It is very useful in the nervous weakness 
and watchfulness which attend hysteric affections. The powder 
of hops, if taken in the dose of a scruple, sometimes produces 
nausea and purging. 



HYDRARGYRUM 

Mercury. 

Origin. Mercury, or quicksilver, is produced in greatest abun- 
dance by the mines of Germany and Spain in the old continent, 
and of Peru in the new. It is occasionally found native in its 
fluid state, but more frequently in combination with other metals, 
with sulphur, with oxygen and acids. 

Qualities. It remains liquid at common temperatures, with 
a lustre resembling that of melted lead. It becomes solid at 
39^° below the cypher of Fahrenheit, assumes a crystalline 
texture, and is ductile and malleable. At 660° it boils, and may 
be distilled in close vessels without alteration. While fluid, its 
specific gravity is 13.568. It evaporates slowly at lower tem- 
peratures than are necessary for its active volatilization. It is 
oxidized by agitation in the air, and still more by air and heat. 
It is dissolved by the strong acids, and unites with other metals, 
forming alloys which are called amalgams. 
27 



206 HYDRARGYRUM. 

Adulterations. The facility with which several of the 
cheaper metals are dissolved by mercury, very frequently leads 
to fraudulent adulterations. Lead, bismuth and tin are often 
found in combination with the mercury of commerce. Where 
they exist in any considerable quantity, they cause the surface 
readily to become dull and covered with a film. They also im- 
pair the fluidity of the mercury, so that its globules easily lose 
their spherical shape when in motion. Besides the appropriate 
tests of these substances, they can always be discovered by dis- 
tilling portions of the mercury, at the end of which process the 
adulterating metals will be left behind. 

Medical uses. Mercury, in its crude state, has little medici- 
nal effect, when taken internally. It is principally operative in 
the form of its combinations hereafter to be spoken of. It is said 
to have been given pure to the extent of two or three pounds, 
without injury or visible effect. But such impunity does not al- 
ways attend upon large doses, the metal sometimes remaining in 
the bowels until it forms combinations capable of acting with 
great violence on the system. The principle upon which crude 
mercury has been given, viz. that of forcing a passage through the 
bowels, in cases of constipation, by its specific gravity, is very 
absurd ; since, from the convoluted and circuitous course of the 
intestines, the gravity of the metal must retard its passage in one 
part, as much as it facilitates it in another. The fumes of mer- 
cury, produced either by the partial evaporation of the metal, or 
by the elevation of its oxidized parts in the form of dust, are very 
active. Persons, who work in quicksilver mines, are liable to 
various diseases, and whole crews of vessels have been salivated 
in consequence of mercury getting loose and running about the 
holds. 

Although crude mercury is scarcely given in modern practice; 
yet, as there are certain general effects in a degree common to 
mercurial medicines, the present is the most proper place for their 
consideration. Mercurial medicines are, generally speaking, uni- 
versal, permanent and powerful stimulants. They increase the 
force and frequency of the pulse, and produce a kind of inflam- 
matory diathesis, indicated by a coat of coagulating lymph on the 



HYDRARGYRUM. 207 

surface of blood drawn from a vein. They excite the whole glan- 
dular apparatus, augmenting the quantity, and frequently altering 
the quality of the secreted fluids. When their use is continued 
for a certain length of time, their action falls particularly upon 
the mouth and salivary glands. The gums become gradually 
tender and swollen, the teeth painful and apparently loosened or 
started from their sockets, while the parotid and sub- maxillary 
glands are enlarged and tender to the touch. At length these 
glands take on an increased action, and large quantities of saliva 
with mucus are discharged from the mouth, the quantity often in- 
creasing until it amounts to several pints or more in a day. The 
inside of the mouth becomes sore and partially excoriated, or 
covered with little ulcers ; the tongue swollen so as to render 
speech difficult and inarticulate; and in violent cases it is pro- 
truded from the mouth. During salivation, the breath exhales a 
peculiar, offensive odour, usually called the mercurial fcetor. To 
these symptoms are added a depression of strength, lassitude, 
and an increased sensibility to annoyance from slight causes. 
After the mercury has been suspended, in a certain time, which 
varies with the circumstances and constitution of the patient, the 
effects begin gradually to abate, the secretion of saliva diminishes, 
the swelling and soreness of the mouth subside, and the most 
troublesome symptoms disappear; leaving, however, a tenderness 
of the gums, a debility of the system, and a quick, feeble pulse, 
for sometime after. 

Constitution, age and sex have a great effect on the suscepti- 
bility of the system to the mercurial stimulus. Some persons 
are unintentionally salivated in a short time from a small and 
unsuspected quantity of mercury, while others cannot be affected 
by the long continued use of large quantities under every possible 
mode of introduction. In general, females are more liable to be 
salivated than males. A great part of the cases, which prove severe, 
or suddenly rise to an unmanageable height, beyond the calcula- 
tions of the practitioner, are those of females. In these subjects, 
therefore, some caution is requisite in the use of common cathar- 
tics containing calomel, lest by its amount or improper repetition, 
we produce unnecessary ptyalism. Children are less subject to 



208 HYDRARGYRUM. 

the mercurial action than adults, and, although calomel is often 
given freely to infants, and its use continued for some time, yet 
we rarely hear of a child under two years old being salivated. 
Although the medicine in them acts readily upon the bowels, it 
seldom affects the mouth. There are limits, however, to be pre- 
scribed for the use of mercury, even in children ; for instances 
have occurred of the most violent salivation, attended even with 
sloughing of part of the face, where mercury has been injudicious- 
ly continued in large quantities. In cases of the venereal dis- 
ease, occuring in infants who take it from their mothers or nurses, 
it is found sufficient for the cure of the disease, that the mercu- 
rial influence should be introduced through the medium of the 
mother's milk. In these cases the same mercury, which pro- 
duces the constitutional symptoms necessary for the cure of the 
mother or nurse, at the same time effects a cure in the infant at 
her breast. 

The use of mercury in diseases is extensive and important. 
Independent of the operations peculiar to different preparations of 
the metal, and which are noticed in another place ; its general 
influence, when gradually introduced in the form of a mercurial 
course, is undoubtedly one of the most powerful resources in the 
hands of physicians. A mercurial influence upon the system may 
be obtained by a persevering use of almost any of the milder prepa- 
rations of the medicine, yet some of them produce it more speed- 
ily than others. It is known to have taken place by the appear^ 
ance of ptyalism, or soreness in the mouth, yet this effect is the 
measure only, and not the object of a mercurial course ; and in 
many cases the cure of diseases is effected without pushing the 
medicine to salivation. 

The individual diseases, to the treatment of which mercury is 
applied, are exceedingly numerous. In general it is safe to say, 
that chronic inflammations, especially those of the viscera ; like- 
wise acute inflammations, which depletion and blisters have failed 
to remove; are proper subjects for a mercurial course, so long as 
there is a chance for their resolution remaining. 

In regard to the mercurial practice in simple fever, much di- 
versity of opinion has prevailed. It has been highly commended 



HYDRARGYRUM. 209 

in the fevers of warm climates, which are of the kind commonly 
called bilious, or attended with particular derangement of the 
chylopoietic viscera. Preparations of mercury, which operate as 
cathartics, are, no doubt, of great use in such cases. But a mer- 
curial salivation, in cases of simple fever uncombined with local 
inflammation, it is believed, will rarely be found serviceable, un- 
less ptyalism be fortunately induced during the few first days of 
the disease, in which case it may prove instrumental, in common 
with emetics and cathartics, in breaking up the fever at its onset. 
In the malignant fevers, which occasionally visit our large cities, 
the career of the disease is too short and rapid to allow the mer- 
curial influence often to take place ; nor is it certain, where it has 
taken place, that the event of the disease has been different from 
what it would otherwise have proved. 

Mercury has been abundantly used, and with great benefit, in 
most of the phlegmasia? of Cullen, when these diseases assume a 
more obstinate form, and do not yield to the primary remedies of 
depletion and vesication. Inflammations, particularly of the 
glandular viscera, require this treatment. Those of the liver, es- 
pecially when they approach to, or assume, the chronic form, 
demand for their cure a liberal use of mercurials. Obstructions 
of the hepatic secretion are likewise proper subjects for these 
medicines; and jaundice, when not accompanied with organic 
lesion or calculous obstruction, is very generally relieved, when 
a mercurial ptyalism is produced, and, in some instances, even 
sooner. Mercury is advantageously employed in dysentery, par- 
ticularly that of warm climates. There are also various cachectic 
maladies, cutaneous affections, and local diseases, in which it 
proves useful, either pushed to the full extent of its powers, or 
more sparingly employed as an auxiliary to other means. 

But there is no disease, in the treatment of which mercury has 
enjoyed so extensive and unrivalled a celebrity as in syphilis. 
In this disease it has, until quite lately, been considered alto- 
gether and exclusively specific ; and recoveries without its as- 
sistance have been deemed a sort of impossibility. It was for- 
merly the custom to give it in large quantities, and for a great 
length of time ; to confine the patient to a close room ; to create 



210 HYDRARGYRUM. 

a severe salivation, and to sustain it for several weeks by the 
unremitting use of mercury; before the disease was supposed to 
be eradicated. More recently, a much less degree of the mercu- 
rial influence has been found necessary ; profuse salivation is in 
most cases avoided, and moderate ptyalism only is produced, not 
as being in itself necessary to the cure, but as affording evidence 
that the constitution has become affected by the remedy. Still 
more lately, one of the preparations of mercury, the oxymuriate, 
has been abundantly proved to cure the disease expeditiously and 
effectually, without the production of any soreness or ptyalism 
whatever. Finally, as if the importance of the venereal specific 
was to be at length wholly undermined, a host of facts has, within 
a short time, sprung up in different places, to shew that syphilis, 
in all its forms and semblances, may be effectually cured without 
a particle of mercury being employed in any shape. 

The circumstance which first tended to impair the exclusive 
confidence, which had existed in the anti-venereal powers of this 
medicine, was, the occurrence of cases of a syphilitic aspect, 
which could not be cured, but on the contrary were aggravated, 
by a mercurial treatment. These cases were studied by differ- 
ent European surgeons, particularly Messrs. Abernethy and 
Carmichael, and by them pronounced to be of a spurious, or not 
truly syphilitic kind. Various rules of distinction were laid 
down for separating the true from the false cases. By degrees 
the latter were found to bear a large proportion to the former; 
and at length it came to be thought, that the true venereal dis- 
ease, as it existed in the days of Mr. Hunter, is now a compara- 
tively rare occurrence ; while a number of spurious and imitative 
diseases, curable without mercury, have taken its place. Nor 
was this all. It soon appeared that the most genuine and un- 
doubted cases might recover without mercury, and the more ex- 
tensively this experiment was made, the more uniform appears to 
have been the result, that not only the primary symptoms of 
syphilis, but also the secondary effects, in all their varieties, may 
be removed by a treatment in which no mercury is employed.* 

* Mr. Rose has published, in the Medico-Chirurgical Transactions, an 
account of 120 cases cured without mercury in his military practice dur- 



HYDRARGYRUM. 211 

The treatment by the antiphlogistic method, without mercury, 
which was found successful, consisted usually in confining the pa- 
tient to the house, and for the most part to a horizontal posture. 
A simple or liquid diet only was allowed, and the rest of the 
antiphlogistic regimen strictly enforced. Bloodletting, when re- 
quired by the symptoms, purgatives and diaphoretics were used, 
particularly antimony and sarsaparilla. To the diseased parts 
local applications were made, either soothing or irritating, mercu- 
rial or not, according to the condition, stage and appearance of 
the affected surface. 

But it is not to be inferred, that the antisyphilitic reputation of 
mercury is overthrown by the late experiments, or the public 
confidence in it destroyed. It will probably always remain 
a resource against various forms of the disease, and it is 
yet to be learned from more extensive trials, whether cases do 
not exist, which admit of no substitute for mercury in their cure. 
Since, also, this metal retains the undoubted character of being 
effectual in true syphilis ; since the modern modes of its admin- 

ing a year and three quarters. Mr. Guthrie successfully treated 100 
cases in the same manner, and had seen notes of 400 more cured without 
mercury in the different hospitals. Dr. John Thomson relates 155 cases 
similarly cured by him in the Consolidated Depot Hospital at Edinburgh 
Castle. Mr. Hennen has published 105 equally successful cases, 20 of 
which were cases of true Hunterian chancre. And in a general inves- 
tigation, undertaken by the surgeons of the British army, it appeared that, 
out of 4767 cases, 1940 were cured without mercury. Of these, 96 had 
secondary symptoms, but every man was fit for military duty immediate- 
ly on his dismissal from the hospital. The average period for the cure of 
primary symptoms was 21 days, and of secondary 36 days. The remain- 
ing 2827 were treated with mercury. 51 of these had secondary symp- 
toms, and two men were rendered unfit for the service. The average 
period for the cure of primary symptoms was 33 days, and of secondary 
45. The foregoing cases, it is stated, include not only the more simple 
sores, but also a regular proportion of those with the most marked cha- 
racter of syphilitic chancre. On a survey of the results it appears, that 
under the non-mercurial treatment, the disease more frequently advanc- 
ed to the secondary symptoms ; but that, on the whole, the average time 
of cure, both of primary and secondary symptoms, was less than it was 
in the cases where mercury was employed. 



212 HYDRARGYRUM. 

istration are not attended with great inconvenience or interrup- 
tion of ordinary pursuits ; and since most patients will not will- 
ingly submit to the confinement and privations necessary for a 
different mode of cure ; it is still highly probable that the majority 
of physicians will continue to esteem it as the safest and most 
convenient method of eradicating this very serious disease. 

Management. The dose and application of the different pre- 
parations of mercury will be found under their respective heads. 
Where a full mercurial influence is thought necessary, it is com- 
monly effected either by the submuriate or the blue pill taken in 
small and continued doses, or by the mercurial ointment exter- 
nally applied. When tenderness of the gums, loosening or 
aching of the teeth and fetor of the breath begin to appear, we 
may suspend the medicine, and in many cases shall find the ob- 
ject of the course to be accomplished, without the necessity of 
occasioning further suffering to the patient. But in obstinate 
maladies, and those of long standing, it is frequently necessary to 
sustain the mercurial action for a longer time. This is effected 
either by renewing the use of the medicine, whenever the soreness 
abates, during a certain time, or by pushing it at once to the 
point of full salivation. During a mercurial course, exposures to 
cold and moisture should be avoided ; also every kind of irregu- 
larity and excess in living. The state of the bowels should be 
attended to, and regulated by laxatives or opiates, if the case re- 
quires it. 

Sometimes the salivation produced by mercury becomes un- 
manageably severe, far exceeding in degree our wishes or antici- 
pations. Unfortunately, in these cases, we have no remedy ca- 
pable of arresting or even of greatly mitigating the progress of 
this painful operation. Cathartics, opiates, sulphuret of potass, 
astringent lotions and blisters to the throat have all been resorted 
to with little advantage. Mr. Pearson recommends, in addition 
to other means, that the patient be freely exposed to a dry, cold 
air ; but such exposure, especially if sudden, cannot be accounted 
safe. It is probable we can do little more than to suspend the 
medicine altogether ; to remove it from the skin, if the ointment 
has been used ; and to wait patiently for the spontaneous subsi- 



HYDRARGYRI OXIDUM CINEREUM. 213 

dence of the symptoms. When the pain is excessive, it may be 
lulled by opiates and fomentations, and if the strength sinks it 
must be supported by tonics. 

A peculiar disease is brought on in some patients by the use 
of mercury, of which that metal appears to be the speciiic cause. 
It is described by many modern writers under a variety of names. 
In its most simple form the mercurial disease consists of an 
eruption appearing like a rose-coloured efflorescence, but found 
on near examination to be made up of minute vesicles. It usual- 
ly makes its first appearance about the thighs and abdomen, and 
is attended with heat and itching, sometimes with head-ache and 
nausea. Sometimes the disease has a febrile form, the eruption 
is deeper and more extensive, resembling measles, and ends with 
copious desquamation and with soreness in the mouth and fauces. 
A malignant species also exists, attended with painful burning 
of the skin, great soreness of the throat and fauces, dark colour- 
ed eruption, violent fever, oppression, cough and difficult breath- 
ing. It may grow out of the milder forms of the disease, if the 
mercury be not seasonably discontinued. 



HYDRARGYRUM PURIFICATUM. 

Purified Mercury* 

The purification of mercury by distillation is supposed to be 
more effectual, if iron filings are added in the retort. These may 
prevent the rising of some of the impurities, with which mercury 
is found adulterated. 



HYDRARGYRI OXIDUM CINEREUM. 

Grey Cvide of Mercury. 

Oxygen combines with mercury in two proportions, forming 
compounds of different characters. The first is the protoxide, 
28 



214 HYDRARGYRI NITR100-0XIDUM. 

a dark-grey powder, commonly called the black oxide, and which 
is the basis of all the milder mercurial medicines. The other is 
the peroxide, a red powder, which is the basis of most of those 
preparations, which are poisonous or caustic. 

When calomel is decomposed by lime water, muriate of lime is 
formed, and held in solution, while protoxide of mercury remains. 
This is the grey oxide of the London and Edinburgh pharmaco- 
poeias. To insure the entire decomposition of the calomel, the 
Edinburgh College employs twice as much lime water as is di- 
rected in the London and American pharmacopoeias. Grey 
oxide of mercury is an impalpable, dark slate-coloured powder, 
which becomes pale when exposed to light and air. It is insolu- 
ble, and nearly insipid. It is used for fumigating syphilitic ulcers, 
and for forming the ointment which bears its name. Internally 
it is given, though not often, in doses of two or three grains. 



HYDRARGYRI NITRICO-OXIDUM. 

Nitric Oxide of Mercury. Called Red Precipitate. 

In preparing red precipitate, a nitrate of mercury is first form- 
ed ; the nitric acid is then driven off by heat, and an oxide re- 
mains, still, however, retaining a slight portion of the acid, which 
entitles it to be considered a subnitrate. It is said to be most 
successfully prepared, when made on a large scale, with the acid 
perfectly pure, and with a heat not exceeding 600°. 

Qualities. Its form is that of small scales, which are of a 
bright red colour, insoluble in water, but soluble in nitric acid 
without effervescence. It is highly acrid and corrosive. 

Uses. It is much employed as a mild caustic to stimulate in- 
dolent ulcers, and repress exuberant granulations, either by 
sprinkling it on the part in fine powder, or by mixing it with 
ointments to be applied. It is also employed to fumigate vene- 
real ulcers in the throat. 



HYDRARGYRI OXYMURIAS. 21 S 



HYDRARGYRI OXYMURIAS. 

Oxymuriate of Mercury. Called Corrosive Sublimate. 

Much diversity of opinion has prevailed in regard to the no- 
menclature of the two compounds of mercury, known in commerce 
by the names of corrosive sublimate, and calomel. To the first 
of these substances, those who have entertained the old views on 
the nature of muriatic acid, have, in different books applied the 
names of muriate, oxymuriate and corrosive muriate of mercu- 
ry. On the contrary, those of the new school of chemistry are 
unsettled among the terms bichloride, perchloride, deutocliloru- 
ret, &c. It becomes pharmacologists to follow the steps of chemi- 
cal reform at a cautious distance, and to retain such names as have 
extensive pharmaceutical authority, at least until there is a cer- 
tainty of exchanging them for more useful ones. The name oxy- 
muriate of the London and American pharmacopoeias has the 
advantage over the rest, that its meaning is universally under- 
stood by the profession ; that, having never been applied to any 
other substance, it is not liable to be mistaken ; and that, as the 
identity of the terms oxymuriatic acid and chlorine is generally 
understood, the name really affords no bad indication of the 
chemical nature of the compound, although it was originally, 
perhaps, applied under erroneous impressions. 

Preparation. In the process, by which oxymuriate of mer- 
cury is prepared, a sulphate of that metal is first formed, which, 
when mixed with dried muriate of soda, and exposed to heat, pro- 
duces a double decomposition ; oxymuriate, or bichloride, of mer- 
cury is sublimed, and sulphate of soda remains behind. 

Qualities. It is a white, shining, semitransparent mass, 
made up of acicular crystals, slightly efflorescent and easily pul- 
verized. It has a disagreeable, metallic, acrid taste, but no smell. 
It is soluble in one part of boiling water, twenty parts of cold water, 
and four of cold alcohol. It is also very soluble in ether. When 
heated, it sublimes in the form of a dense, white vapour, strongly 



216 HYDRARGYRI OXYMURIAS. 

affecting the nose and mouth. It dissolves, without decomposi- 
tion, in sulphuric, nitric and muriatic acids, but is quickly de- 
composed by the alkalies and some of the metals. With muriate 
of ammonia it forms a very soluble compound. Its aqueous 
solution is decomposed by light, but not its alcoholic. It con- 
sists of one proportional of mercury to two of chlorine; and of 
73.72 parts, by weight, of mercury to 26.28 of chlorine. 

Tests. As corrosive sublimate is a strong poison, the follow- 
ing tests may serve for its detection : If heat is applied, it vola- 
tilizes in white fumes, which tarnish a bright copperplate held 
over them with a mercurial coating. If exposed to heat in a coat- 
ed glass tube, it sublimes and lines the upper part of the tube 
with a shining, white crust. If this is dissolved in distilled water, 
it gives an orange-yellow precipitate with lime water. Caustic 
potass produces a yellow precipitate, but if the solution be very 
dilute, a white cloud appears, which becomes yellowish-red on 
subsiding. Water of ammonia forms a white precipitate, which 
turns yellow on being heated. Sulphuretted hydrogen and the 
hydrosulphurets give a blackish-brown precipitate. Protomuriate 
of tin gives a white, and nitrate of silver a curdy precipitate. 

Effects and Uses. If this compound is taken in any consi- 
derable quantity, it produces thirst, heat of the throat and stomach, 
violent pain in the stomach and bowels, vomiting, diarrhcea, 
faintings, convulsions and death. In very small quantities, it 
occasions nausea and vomiting. 

In medical practice, it is much used in such doses as the stom- 
ach will bear without great inconvenience, and is found a very 
valuable alterative in cutaneous and syphilitic diseases. It con- 
stitutes the basis of many empirical medicines which, under 
different names, have acquired celebrity in the cure of ulcers, 
eruptions of the skin, and venereal complaints. There is, per- 
haps, no medicine which so frequently succeeds as this in effect- 
ing changes in the action of the extreme vessels, adequate to re- 
move chronic and obstinate diseases of the skin, as well as to 
prevent their recurrence. In syphilis, after undergoing many 
vicissitudes of reputation, it now sustains the character of an easy 
and undoubted remedy. Although it appears not hitherto to have 



HYDRARGYRI OXYMURIAS. 217 

become a favorite remedy with the British practitioners, yet in 
many parts of the continent of Europe, especially Germany and 
France, also in the United States, particularly in the city of 
New York, extensive proofs have been published of its efficacy, 
unassisted by other medicines, in removing all the common forms 
and varieties of the venereal disease. Compared with other pre- 
parations of mercury, it has the advantage that it rarely salivates, 
and that, under proper management, it is safe and easy in its ope- 
ration, and subjects the patient to little inconvenience or re- 
straint. 

Exhibition. The use of corrosive sublimate may be com- 
menced with an eighth of a grain, two or three times in a day, 
and gradually increased till it produces nausea. The highest 
dose being thus ascertained, which the stomach will bear without 
inconvenience, it may be continued for a greater or smaller 
length of time, until the desired effect is produced, or the insuffi- 
ciency of the medicine decided. From one to eight weeks is 
ordinarily a sufficient period ; but it may be continued for a 
much longer time, if no adverse symptom, attributable to the 
medicine, occurs. The forms of exhibition are those of the solu- 
tion and pills ; which see. Of these, the solution is to be pre- 
ferred, admitting of more gradual increase. 

Oxymuriate of mercury is decomposed by the alkalies, alka- 
line earths, soaps, sulphur, various metals, salts, &c. The con- 
tents of the stomach, after eating, modify very much its effect, 
so that it should always be given on an empty stomach, and each 
dose, as nearly as possible, under similar circumstances. 

Antidotes. Albuminous substances, such as the white of 
eggs, according to Orfila, form the best antidote when an over- 
dose has been swallowed. If these are not at hand, wheat flour, 
mixed with water, oils and demulcent drinks are found most ef- 
fectual as counter poisons. 



218 HYDRARGYRI SUB1MURIAS. 



LIQUOR HYDRARGYRI OXYMURIATIS. 

Solution of Oxymuriate of Mercury, 

This solution is directed by the London and American pharma- 
copoeias as a convenient form for exhibiting corrosive sublimate. 
A fluidounce contains half a grain. It should be kept in dark 
bottles, since the action of light sometimes decomposes the oxy- 
muriate, and calomel is precipitated. Dose, two fluidrachms, to 
be gradually increased. * 



HYDRARGYRI SUBMURIAS. 

Submuriate of Mercury. Called Calomel. 

This compound is denominated submuriate of mercury in all 
the British pharmacopceias, as well as the American. Although, 
in strict chemical accuracy, this is not the most appropriate 
name ; yet as the term muriate cannot safely be adopted, being ap- 
plied in many books to the oxymuriate ; and as medical writers 
have not yet substituted either of the new terms chloride, proto- 
chloride or protochloruret ; the wisest course consists in retain- 
ing the present name, which is universally understood, and appli- 
ed to no other substance. 

Preparation. In the formation of calomel by the common 
process, the crude mercury abstracts from the corrosive sublimate 
a part of its chlorine, and the mixed mass assumes a blackish-grey 

* The following Tincture or Oxymuriate oe Mercury has been 
extensively in use in this city : 

Take of Oxymuriate of mercury, twenty-four grains. 
Diluted alcohol, one pint. Mix. 

The dose of this spirituous solution is thirty or forty minims, to be in- 
creased or diminished, according to the effect it produces. It is less 
liable to decomposition than the aqueous solution above. 



HYDRARGYRI SUBMURIAS. 219 

solour. The sublimations render complete the combination of one 
proportional of the chlorine in the sublimate with the newly added 
mercury, and the result is a whitish mass, consisting of calomel. 
This, however, is not the case after the first sublimation ; for both 
metallic mercury and corrosive muriate are found in the sublimed 
mass. If, on the other hand, the sublimation is repeated too 
often, the product is liable to be injured and to contain corrosive 
sublimate. As a test of the purity of calomel, the Dublin Col- 
lege direct that, after being pulverized, it should be washed with 
repeated affusions of distilled water, until the liquid poured off 
no longer lets fall any sediment on the addition of a few drops 
of solution of subcarbonate of potass. 

Qualities. Submuriate of mercury, when first sublimed, is a 
semi-transparent mass of short prismatic crystals, having a yel- 
lowish-white or ivory colour, which deepens by exposure to light. 
It is without taste or smell. For all practical purposes, it may 
be regarded as insoluble, since it requires 1152 parts of boiling 
water for its solution. Lime water and alkalies immediately 
turn it to a dark slate-colour by combining with its chlorine and 
leaving protoxide of mercury. Nitric acid reproduces corrosive 
sublimate. It consists of one proportional of mercury to one of 
chlorine ; or of 84.85 parts of the metal to 15.15 of chlorine. 

Uses. Submuriate of mercury, considered in regard to the 
extent in which it is employed, and the variety of indications 
which it is capable of fulfilling, is one of the most important pre- 
parations in the Materia Medica. Under different modes of 
administration, it is cathartic, emetic, sialagogue, alterative, diu- 
retic, expectorant, or anthelminthic. Larger quantities of it are 
consumed for internal use, than of all the other preparations of 
mercury put together. 

Employed as a purgative, calomel is distinguished by an ope- 
ration at once active, effectual and easy. It seems to commence 
its operation higher in the alimentary canal than most other pur- 
gatives, and to afford more relief to the stomach by evacuating 
that organ downwards. It is particularly useful as a purge in 
fevers, which are attended with a disordered state of the chylo- 
poietie viscera, producing the symptoms usually called bilious. 



220 HYDRARGYRI SUBMURIAS. 

In jaundice, and in chronic forms of dysentery, it is to be preferred 
to other cathartics, not only because it produces effectual evacua- 
tions, but because any approaches to a mercurial influence on the 
constitution are salutary in those diseases. In cases where the 
stomach merely is clogged with viscid or acrid impurities, greater 
relief is obtained from calomel than from any other purgative. 
It promotes the expulsion of lumbrici better than most of the an- 
thelmintics in common use. No cathartic is more easy of exhi- 
bition ; for being without taste or smell, and the dose being small 
in bulk, it may be administered, even without discovery, to chil- 
dren and timid patients. It is peculiarly suited to children at 
about the age of dentition, at which period it operates on them 
with mildness, and rarely, if ever, produces ptyalism. See the 
remarks, page 208. 

"When calomel is long continued, whether in large or small 
doses, and whether it purges or not, it brings on a sore mouth and 
salivation. Administered in this way, it is applied to the cure of 
various diseases in the manner already stated under the general 
head of Mercury. As a number of days usually elapse before 
the mouth can be affected under the use of calomel, the conve- 
nience and welfare of the patient make it often desirable that its 
purgative tendency should, as far as possible, be restrained. But 
it is not certain, although it seems to be frequently believed, that 
the ultimate object, that of producing ptyalism, is at all retarded 
in consequence of the mercury running off by the bowels. On 
the other hand, it often appears, that the patients, who are most 
easily salivated by calomel, are those whose bowels are most sus- 
ceptible of its purgative stimulus. This remark is the result of 
my own observations, and is confirmed by those who have paid 
particular attention to the subject. 

Submuriate of mercury, combined with emetics, particularly 
with ipecacuanha, renders their emetic operation more effectual. 
With diuretics it acts upon the kidnies. In acute pulmonary in- 
flammations, after the first violence of the complaint is subdued, 
calomel eminently promotes that state of the extreme vessels of 
the lungs, which is favorable to free expectoration. And in vari- 
ous other inflammatory diseases it proves powerfully alterative. 



HYDRARGYRI SUBMURIAS. 221 

augmenting the secretions and excretions, and affording a conve- 
nient and effectual mode for attaining the objects of a mercurial 
course. 

Exhibition. On account of its weight and insolubility, calo- 
mel is best given in pills. When administered in powder, it 
should be mixed with some very tenacious fluid, like molasses or 
thick mucilage. For want of attention to this circumstance, the 
calomel in compound powders is frequently lost by subsiding to 
the bottom of the spoon or other vessel employed. A purgative 
dose is from five to fifteen grains. It should be observed, that in 
health, also in most chronic diseases, smaller doses will operate 
than in acute fevers and inflammations. Likewise, in an acid or 
disordered state of the stomach, smaller quantities will be found 
effectual, than under opposite circumstances. When an active 
and certain operation is required, it is better to combine six or 
eight grains of calomel with about three times the quantity of 
jalap, or with some other vegetable cathartic, than to employ it 
alone, even in a greater proportionate quantity. To females, and 
to persons known to be particularly susceptible of the mercurial 
stimulus, large doses of calomel should not be given on slight oc- 
casions, nor repeated on two successive days, if we wish to avoid 
the risk of salivation. In diseases of the chylopoietic viscera, it 
is often useful to give calomel at night, and a different purge on 
the following morning. — For teething children, from one to five 
grains is a suitable dose. 

When it is desired to produce a constitutional effect, or ptya- 
lism, a grain of calomel, in a pill, may be given night and morn- 
ing. If it does not aftect the bowels, the quantity may be in- 
creased ; but if purging takes place, it may be diminished. If the 
degree of purging is troublesome, a third of a grain of opium 
should be added to each pill. In urgent or difficult cases, its 
action may be promoted by frictions with mercurial ointment. 

Alkalies and lime water decompose calomel, and leave a prot- 
oxide of mercury. Soaps also, when in solution, produce the 
same effect. These substances, if combined with it in medical 
prescriptions, have some effect on its activity, and, if present in 
sufficient quantities, they reduce it to the same strength as the 
blue pill. 

29 



222 HYDRARGYRI SUBSULPHAS FLAVUS. 



HYDRARGYRI SUBMURIAS AMMONIATUS. 

Jimmoniated Submuriate of Mercury. Formerly White 
Precipitate. 

In the process by which this article is prepared, the oxy muri- 
ate of mercury and muriate of ammonia combine, forming a ter- 
nary compound of muriatic acid, ammonia, and mercury, in 
solution. On adding the subcarbonate of potass, a part of the 
acid is abstracted, muriate of potass is formed and remains in 
solution, while an insoluble muriate of mercury and ammonia is 
precipitated. Mr. Phillips thinks the quantity of subcarbonate of 
potass ordered is not sufficient. 

This preparation is a fine, insoluble powder, whiter than calo- 
mel, and not turning black when triturated with lime water. It 
is used externally for cutaneous eruptions, in the form of an 
ointment; which see. 



HYDRARGYRI SUBSULPHAS FLAVUS. 

Fellow Subsulphate of Mercury. Formerly Turpeth Mineral. 

When the dry, white powder, formed in the first part of this 
process, is mixed with boiling water, a supersulphate of mercury 
is separated and remains in solution, while a subsulphate is pre- 
cipitated. The subsulphate is a beautiful, bright yellow powder 
of an acrid taste. It is nearly insoluble, requiring 2000 parts of 
cold, and 600 of boiling water for its solution. 

Subsulphate of mercury is a violent emetic in doses of from 
three to five grains, and is only used in extraordinary cases. In 
smaller doses, it is given as an alterative in obstinate syphilitic 
cases. Mixed with several times its weight of liquorice, it is 
snuffed up the nose as an errhine. It occasionally salivates. 



HYDRARGYRI SULPHURETUM RUBRUM. 223 

HYDRARGYRI SULPHURETUM NIGRUM. 

Black Sulphuret of Mercury. Formerly JEthiop's Mineral. 

When mercury is triturated with sulphur, it is converted into 
a black, impalpable powder, without taste or smell. This powder 
contains about 100 parts of mercury to 8 of sulphur. It was for- 
merly much used in medicine under the name of JEthiop's mine- 
ral, but it is one of the most inert preparations of mercury, and is 
little employed at the present day, except sometimes as an an- 
thelminthic or an alterative in cutaneous and scrofulous diseases. 
Dose, from five to thirty grains three times a day. 



HYDRARGYRI SULPHURETUM RUBRUM. 

Red Sulphuret of Mercury. Formerly Cinnabar. 

This article is better known in the arts, under the name of 
Vermilion, than it is in medicine. It is of a beautiful red col- 
our, insipid, insoluble, and burns with a blue flame. It is a bi- 
sulphuret, containing twice as much sulphur to a given quantity 
of mercury as the preceding article. This compound is seldom 
used internally at the present day. Its chief use in medicine is 
to fumigate venereal ulcers in the throat, which is done by throw- 
ing it on heated iron, and inhaling the vapour. If taken internal- 
ly, the dose may be from ten to thirty grains. 

A mercurial bath has been contrived for the treatment of 
syphilitic and cutaneous diseases, by enclosing the body, without 
the head, in a box or sack, and filling it with fumes of sulphuret 
tf mercury. 



224 HYOSCYAMUB. 



HYOSCYAMUS. 

Henbane. 

Origin. The Hyoscyamus niger is an European plant, of 
biennial duration, now naturalized in waste grounds and road 
sides in the United States. 

Qualities. It is a glutinous, hairy, fetid plant, and becomes 
extremely offensive if the green leaves be shut up over night in 
a box. The taste is mucilaginous and slightly acrid. Its active 
properties are readily communicated to diluted alcohol or proof 
spirit. A peculiar alkali, called Hyoscyamia, has been extracted 
from this plant, and which contains its narcotic energy in a 
high degree. It crystallizes in long prisms, and forms, with 
sulphuric and nitric acids, very characteristic salts. It is said 
to resist alteration, even at a red heat. 

Uses. Henbane operates on the human system as a powerful 
narcotic, and if incautiously taken in large quantities, affects 
the brain with stupor or delirium, suspends the sensibility of the 
retina, brings on vomiting or purging, convulsions, cold sweats, 
great prostration of strength, and other alarming symptoms. It 
has, however, been introduced into medicine in small doses as an 
anodyne and antispasmodic. Along with its narcotic power, it 
has a laxative effect on the bowels, and has been used as a sub- 
stitute for opium in cases where that medicine disagrees with the 
patient, or where it is particularly desirable to avoid costiveness. 
Henbane is not, however, an equivalent for opium, and is apt to 
produce disturbed and unrefreshing sleep. It has been given in 
colic, particularly colica pictonum, in rheumatism, hysteria, and 
some puerperal complaints. Externally it forms a useful ano- 
dyne application in hemorrhoids, in chordee, and in painful ulce- 
rations. 

Exhibition. Internally it is used in the form of extract and 
tincture ; which see. Externally the bruised leaves are applied 
as a cataplasm. 



ICTHYOCOLLA.— INFUSA. 225 



ICTHYOCOLLA. 

Isinglass, 

Origin. Isinglass consists of the dried sounds or swimming 
bladders of certain fish, principally of the sturgeon tribe. 
The Jlcipenser huso, or beluga, is supposed to afford the best. 
At present, most of the isinglass of commerce is procured from 
fishes, which inhabit the northern rivers of Europe and Asia. 
The high price of the article would justify its preparation in the 
United States ; and there is no doubt that various species of 
American fishes would afford it.* 

Qualities. Isinglass commonly comes in the form of leaves, 
or in rolls bent into the shape of a heart. The best is without 
taste or smell, and dissolves almost wholly in water. It consists 
of gelatin nearly pure, being principally soluble in hot water, the 
solution coagulating into a jelly on cooling. It precipitates tan- 
nin from all vegetable solutions that contain it, and is used as 
the common test of that substance. Alcohol separates it from 
water. 

Uses. It has been employed as a demulcent, but is now more 
used as a nutritious and light article of diet, and a refining me- 
dium for liquors. 



INFUSA. 

Infusions, 

Infusions are solutions of vegetable matter in water, which are 
made without boiling. They are prepared either with cold or 
hot water, according to the chemical nature of the substance 

* A manufactory of isinglass of very good quality is now in operation 
at Gloucester, Massachusetts. 



226 INFUSA. 

to be infused. Some vegetables impart their active properties 
sufficiently to cold water, and are more grateful to the taste when 
thus infused. Others require that the water should be kept for 
some time near to the boiling point ; and the infusions thus form- 
ed partake of the character of decoctions. When the active 
constituents are of a volatile nature, the heat used should not be 
great nor long continued. On account of the difficulty of pre- 
serving infusions from decomposition, they are generally prepar- 
ed a short time only before they are wanted. 

Infusum Angusturje. Infusion of dngustura. — This is a 
light, bitter tonic, in the dose of one or two fluidounces. 

Infusum Anthemidis. Infusion of Chamomile. — This infu- 
sion is an excellent tonic, and proves grateful to the stomach in 
the dose of one or two fluidounces. When it is prepared with 
hot water, the taste is less pleasant, and this infusion is frequently 
employed, in a lukewarm state, to promote the action of an emetic. 

Infusum Armoraci^. Infusion of Horseradish, — From 
one to three fluidounces are given several times in a day as a 
stimulant and diuretic in paralytic and dropsical cases. 

Infusum Cascarillje. Infusion of Cascarilla. — The bitter 
property of Cascarilla and much of its aroma are preserved in 
this infusion. It is a light tonic, and is advantageously used in 
low stages of fever by patients who cannot support the Peruvian 
bark. Dose, from a half to two fluidounces three times a day. 

Infusum Cinchonje. Infusion of Peruvian Bark. — This is 
the weakest preparation of cinchona, and is used only where 
light tonics are indicated, or where the bark cannot be supported 
in a more effectual form. Dose, one or two fluidounces three or 
four times in a day. 

Infusum Cinchona cum Aqua Calcis. Infusion of Pe- 
ruvian Bark with Lime Water. —Yrom. the experiments of Dr. 
Skeete, detailed in his Essay on Peruvian bark, it would seem. 



INFUSA. 227 

that lime water promotes the solubility of some portions of the 
bark. According to him the infusion made with lime water is of 
a red colour, and " remarkably more bitter to the taste" than the 
infusion made with simple water. It also undergoes a much 
greater change of colour on the addition of sulphate of iron. In 
some dyspeptic complaints, the lime is a useful medical adjunct 
to the cinchona. 

Infusum Cinchona cum Magnesia. Infusion of Peruvian 
Bark with Magnesia. — This preparation is extolled by Dr. 
Skeete as being of a much deeper colour than the simple infusion ; 
more bitter and astringent to the taste ; yielding a greater dis- 
coloration and precipitate with sulphate of iron ; and, finally, as 
keeping for a much longer time than the simple infusion. He 
supposes that magnesia, when triturated with bark, forms a com- 
pound more active and soluble in water than pure bark. This 
preparation and the preceding may be taken in the same doses as 
the simple infusion. See Magnesia. 

Infusum Cinchona cum Succo Limonum. Infusion of 
Peruvian Bark with Lemon Juice. — With this preparation of 
bark, I am not experimentally acquainted. It seems calculated 
for the low stages of fever, to be taken in doses of one or two 
fluidounces. 

i 

Infusum Colombo. Infusion of Columbo. — A very bitter 
infusion, possessing the medicinal properties of columbo. 

Infusum Digitalis. Infusion of Foxglove. — The infusion 
affords a pleasant and useful mode of exhibiting foxglove. The 
addition of cinnamon covers the unpalatable taste. Half a fluid- 
ounce may be taken twice a day, and the quantity gradually en- 
larged till the effects of the foxglove appear, 

Infusum Eupatorii. Infusion of Eupatorium. — This infu- 
sion may be taken cold, as a tonic, in the dose of a fluidounce ; or 
warm, as an emetic and sudorific, in the dose of half a pint. 



228 INFUSA. 

Infusum Gentians compositum. Compound Infusion of 
Gentian. — This preparation contains the bitter and aromatic 
properties of the articles employed in forming it. The diluted 
alcohol renders the solution more perfect, and makes it less liable 
to change in warm weather. Dose, as a tonic and stomachic, one 
or two fluidounces. 

Infusum Lini. Infusion of Flaxseed. — Flaxseed tea, thus 
prepared, may be taken ad libitum in strangury and other cases, 
which require demulcents. 

Infusum Quassoe. Infusion of Quassia. — Quassia is com- 
monly exhibited in infusion, its bitter principle being fully dis- 
solved by water. This preparation is a mild and excellent tonic 
in the dose of half a fluidounce three times a day. 

Infusum Quassia cum Sulphate Zinci. Infusion of Quas- 
sia with Sulphate of Zinc. — Sulphate of zinc is a useful adjunct 
to quassia, and considerably increases its tonic power in dyspep- 
sia and habitual diarrhoea. Dose, as in the preceding article. 

Infusum Ros^ compositum. Compound Infusion of Roses. 
— This is an acid, astringent infusion, used as a gargle in sore 
throats, and as a vehicle for magnesia, which it renders more 
purgative. 

Infusum Sennje compositum. Compound Infusion of Senna. 
—In this infusion super tartrate of potass is added to promote the 
purgative operation, and ginger to correct the griping tendency of 
the senna. The quantity of senna has been thought unnecessa- 
rily large, and more than sufficient to saturate the water. Dose, 
three or four fluidounces. 

Infusum Sennje et Tamarindi. Infusion of Senna and 
Tamarind. — This is a weak infusion of senna, but more pleasant 
to the taste than the other infusions. Dose, about half a pint. 



INULA. . 229 

Infusum Serpentari^e. Infusion of Virginia Snake Root. 
— The bitterness of snake root is communicated to water by infu- 
sion, together with a considerable part of its aromatic pungency. 
A fluidounce may be taken cold, as a tonic, several times in a day, 
or a much larger quantity, while hot, as a sudorific. 

Infusum Spigeli^:. Infusion of Carolina Pink. — This in- 
fusion is mucilaginous and rather unpalatable. Half a fluid- 
ounce may be taken by a child two years old, and half a pint by 
an adult. This dose may be repeated three times a day, if no 
narcotic symptom is observed. 

Infusum Tabaci. Infusion of Tobacco. — Half a> pint of this 
infusion may be injected as an enema in tetanus or incarcerated 
hernia. It produces purging and the powerful constitutional 
effects of tobacco. 

Infusum Ulmi. Infusion of Slippery Elm. — This is a valua- 
ble demulcent liquid, which may be taken freely in cases of dys- 
entery, strangury and catarrh. 

Infusum Valerianae. Infusion of Valerian. — Valerian is 
advantageously given in infusion, in the dose of a teacupful, or 
about four fluidounces. This quantity, taken at night by nervous 
patients, frequently procures sleep better than opium. It is often 
useful to make the infusion twice as strong as that directed by 
the Pharmacopoeia, or in the proportion of an ounce to a pint. 



INULA. 

Elecampane. 

Elecampane is a tall plant, not unlike the sun-flower, introduc- 
ed from Europe, and now found by road sides in the United 
States. The taste of the root is bitter and somewhat pungent. 
30 



230 IPECACUANHA. 

A white powder, like starch, is deposited from the decoction on 
cooling, to which the name of Inulin has been given. When 
treated with nitric acid, it produces malic and oxalic acids. Ele- 
campane has been considered tonic and expectorant, but is infe- 
rior to many other articles of this character. 



IPECACUANHA. 

Ipecacuanha. 

Origin. It was not distinctly known from what plant this 
important root was obtained, until Professor Brotero published 
in the Linnsean Transactions a figure and description of the 
Callicocca ipecacuanha, from which the true Brazilian drug is 
derived. Another plant, allied to the Callicocca in its botanical 
habit, the Psychotria emetica, was sent by Mutis to the younger 
Linnaeus as the species producing the ipecacuanha. Baron 
Humboldt, likewise, who has given a figure of the Psychotria 
in one of the later fasciculi of his splendid work, the Plantce 
Equinoxiales, informs us that this plant is cultivated for exporta- 
tion by the inhabitants of San Lucar and various parts of New 
Grenada ; that it is carried by traders to Carthagena ; and that the 
ipecacuanha, which the merchants of Cadiz distribute throughout 
Europe, is almost wholly the root of this vegetable. In a letter 
to Merat, published since in a different work, he states, that far- 
ther south, in the neighborhood of Badillas, he has seen the 
Callicocca ipecacuanha cultivated for the sake of its root. The 
roots of both plants are known by the name of Raicilla, and the 
word ipecacuanha is not in use among the inhabitants. 

After a careful examination of the plates of Humboldt and 
Brotero, I am satisfied that the kind of ipecacuanha, which our 
druggists are accustomed to consider genuine, and for which they 
pay a high price, is the root of the Callicocca, and not of the 
Psychotria. The latter root is indeed rare in this country, a 
circumstance which its inferior efficacy leaves no cause to regret. 



IPECACUANHA. 231 

Qualities. Good ipecacuanha produced by the Callicocca, 
otherwise Cepliaelis of Willdenow, is, in its dry state, a small, 
wrinkled root, about the size of a hen's quill, variously contorted 
and marked with annular prominences, dark coloured on the out- 
side, but pale or greyish within, dense, brittle, breaking with a 
resinous fracture, and interrupted by circular, transverse fissures. 
The woody part forms a small, tough, fibrous centre, serving to 
connect the fragments or rings together. The taste of this root 
is nauseous and slightly bitter, with little smell. The activity 
resides chiefly in the cortical or brittle part, the woody centre 
being nearly inert. Some varieties of this root are known in 
commerce, particularly the grey and the brown, which differ 
principally in their size and shades of colour, being both derived 
from the same plant. 

Ipecacuanha has been chemically examined by Pelletier and 
Magendie, who, besides the woody fibres, obtained from it por- 
tions of wax, gum, starch, oily matter, and a peculiar substance, 
in which the emetic property resides, and which, not being able 
to resolve it into other substances, they have considered a distinct 
proximate principle, and have given it the name of Emetine. 
This substance is obtained in the form of dark-red, transparent 
scales, having an empyreumatic odour, and a bitterish, but not 
nauseous taste, followed by some acrimony. It deliquesces in a 
moist atmosphere, is very soluble in water and alcohol, but is not 
soluble in ether. Nitric acid converts it into oxalic acid. Ernes- 
tine, otherwise called Emeta, possesses, in a concentrated state, 
the emetic power of ipecacuanha. In the dose of from two to 
four grains for an adult it excites full and effectual vomiting.* 
It is also stated to have a specific action upon the lungs and mu- 
cous membrane of the intestines ; also to produce some narcotic 

* The statement in various books, that half a grain excites violent 
■vomiting, is probably made in consequence of experiments on animals. I 
have satisfied myself, by various experiments made with emetine obtained 
from Pelletier in Paris, that three or four grains are necessary to produce 
full and effectual vomiting. I have rarely succeeded in an adult with 
less than two. Merat directs from two to four grains in the Diet, des 
Sciences Medicales. XXVI. 20. 



232 IPECACUANHA. 

effect. Large quantities are attended with danger, and dogs 
have been destroyed by the close of ten grains. Emetine is re- 
commended by the French chemists to be substituted for ipeca- 
cuanha, on account of its more pleasant taste, its small bulk, and 
its ready solubility in water. Various emetic plants contain this 
peculiar substance. The grey and brown roots of Callicocca, 
which Pelletier supposed to proceed from different plants, afford- 
ed him sixteen and fourteen per cent, of emetine. The root of 
the true Psychotria, afterwards examined by the same chemist, 
yielded only nine per cent. The white ipecacuanha, which is the 
root of a Viola, or more probably a Reichardia, gave but five 
per cent, of the emetic principle. Some researches were made by 
Caventou for emetine in several European plants with little suc- 
cess. The Viola odorata afforded a small quantity, while the 
Euphorbia helioscopia, Polygonum aviculare, and Asarum Euro- 
pseum yielded none at all. 

Adulterations. The various roots which have been mixed 
with, or substituted for that of Callicocca ipecacuanha, are for 
the most part easy of distinction. The root of Psychotria emeti- 
ca is without rings, striated longitudinally, its fracture blackish, 
and its taste nearly insipid. That of Viola ipecacuanha, or 
Reichardia, is whitish, amylaceous and insipid. Gillenia trifolia- 
ta is distinguished by its bitter taste, and the red colour of its 
decoction. Euphorbia ipecacuanha and Phytolacca decandra 
may be known by their large size, spongy texture without the 
central fibre, and comparative insipidity. 

Uses. Ipecacuanha justly stands at the head of the vegetable 
emetics hitherto examined, both for the promptness, efficacy and 
safety of its operation. Of the common emetics, it is one of 
the most mild, being less powerful than the preparations of anti- 
mony, and less speedy than the sulphate of zinc. Given in sub- 
stance, it evacuates the stomach freely of its contents, and in 
full doses inverts the action of the duodenum, producing dis- 
charges of bile. The activity of ipecacuanha is proportionate to 
the largeness of the dose, though in a less ratio than that of the 
mineral emetics, owing to the bulk and partial insolubility of the 
powder, a great portion of which is thrown off with the first efforts 



IPECACUANHA. 233 

to vomit. Its emetic power is much increased by the addition of 
a small portion of calomel, or of tartar emetic. Ipecacuanha is 
our best medicine in cases where moderate vomiting is indi- 
cated, where it is only requisite to free the stomach from impuri- 
ties, or where the reduced strength of the patient forbids us to 
encounter the risk of violent emesis. But in cases which demand 
active and powerful vomiting, not only to dislodge the contents 
of the stomach, but to excite a continued effort, and force other 
parts of the system into sympathetic action ; more powerful 
means are requisite than this medicine affords. 

In small or nauseating doses, ipecacuanha is found to exert a 
useful influence in various diseases, apparently by means of its 
sympathetic operation on different parts of the body. Its action 
on the mucous membrane of the bronchise and fauces renders it 
of service in catarrhal and pneumonic disorders ; and in the differ- 
ent states of these complaints it appears to exert a diversified 
and seemingly opposite action ; not only promoting expectoration 
in cases where the mucous membrane is inflamed and dry, but 
likewise serving to restrain the secretion, when it is inordinate 
and excessive. 

It is given in hemorrhages, particularly of the lungs and uterus, 
either alone or combined with opiates and astringents. It is 
unquestionably efficacious in these discharges, though less pow- 
erful than sulphate of copper, or acetate of lead. 

In dysentery, ipecacuanha appears to have been long employed, 
and in all quarters of the world. Practitioners differ much, how- 
ever, as to the stage and quantity in which it is to be given. 
Zimmerman has pronounced it dangerous to employ this emetic 
in early stages of the disease, while some physicians in India have 
resorted to it in large doses, combined with opium, at the first on- 
set. The latter practice has been successfully imitated in this 
country. One or two grains of opium, combined with as many 
scruples of ipecacuanha, will retard vomiting for some hours, and 
throw the patient into a profuse perspiration. But in common 
eases, it is better to give smaller doses, and not till after the full 
operation of a cathartic. Half a dozen grains, given at night 
with a grain of opium, prove a strong sudorific, and are generally 



234 IPECACUANHA. 

followed by vomiting in the morning, and often with marked 
relief of the complaint. 

In symptomatic asthma, from foulness or acidity of the sto- 
mach, vomiting produced by this, or any other emetic, gives in- 
stantaneous relief. But, in some patients, the dust and odour of 
ipecacuanha brings on a paroxysm of asthma, even in health. 

In minute doses, of from a quarter of a grain to two grains, 
ipecacuanha has been thought by M. Daubenton and others to be 
efficacious in dyspepsia. It is directed to be taken habitually in 
the morning on an empty stomach. The dose should be such as 
to produce a distinct sensation in the stomach, but not amounting 
to nausea. It appears, in these cases, to promote the ordinary 
functions of the alimentary canal, and it frequently obviates the 
costiveness, which is so troublesome a concomitant to dyspeptic 
cases. 

Among the properties, which have been ascribed to ipecacuanha, 
one of the most remarkable is an anti-emetic power. In the Me- 
moirs of the Royal Society of Copenhagen it is stated to have 
cured a case of iliac passion of several days' standing, which re- 
sisted all other remedies. It is certain that we sometimes find 
spontaneous vomiting to cease after the operation of an emetic 
of this sort, even though nothing is discharged of a character to 
account for the relief produced. 

Exhibition. The most common form of administering this 
medicine is powder, the dose for an adult being from one to two 
scruples. Delicate stomachs are moved by ten grains ; but in 
common patients, powerful vomiting is not often produced with- 
out the exhibition of a quantity even larger than that which has 
been specified. The powder is most conveniently taken mixed 
with treacle or jelly, or diffused in water. Wine of ipecacuanha 
preserves the emetic virtues of the root, and may be advan- 
tageously combined with the powder. Children are vomited by 
from one to ten grains of the powder, according to their age and 
case. As a diaphoretic or expectorant, one, two or three grains 
may be administered. 

Incompatible substances. Vinegar and the vegetable acids 
weaken the force of ipecacuanha, and vegetable astringents are 



IRIS FLORENTINA.— IRIS VERSICOLOR. 235 

said to produce the same effect. Opium retards its action, and 
directs it to the skin, and is reciprocally weakened in its nar- 
cotic power by the ipecacuanha, The best anti-emetics, in cases 
of excessive operation are, strong hyson tea ; carbonic acid af- 
forded by different effervescing draughts, such as that produced 
by mixing lemon juice with a solution of subcarbonate of potass ; 
aromatic tinctures ; and lastly laudanum. 



IRIS FLORENTINA. 

Florentine Orris. 

The Iris Florentina is a native of the south of Europe, but 
is frequently cultivated in our gardens. The fresh root is acrid 
and purgative, but the dried root farinaceous and nearly inert. 
It has an agreeable odour, and is sold by our apothecaries prin- 
cipally as a masticatory to improve the breath. 



IRIS VERSICOLOR. 

Blue Flag. 

This species is indigenous, and very common in wet grounds. 
The root contains resin, and a nauseous, acrid, volatile matter. 
When recent, or newly dried, it is a powerful emetic and ca- 
thartic, and was in use for this purpose among the Indians. It 
is liable, however, to produce a distressing, long-continued 
nausea, and prostration of strength, which will, no doubt, prevent 
its use in common cases. In the dose of one or two grains, re- 
cently dried, it is diuretic ; and has been found a useful adjunct 
to other medicines of that class in dropsical cases. 



236 JALAPA. 

JALAPA. 

Jalap. 

Origin. This important drug is brought from Mexico, through 
the port of Vera Cruz- It was considered by Linnseus to be the 
root of a Convolvulus, to which he gave the specific name of jalapa. 
Several travellers in Mexico, especially Houston and Thierry de 
Menonville, have confirmed its generic character. Some ambi- 
guity, however, exists as to the distinguishing marks of the 
species which produces the officinal jalap. The plant represented 
and described as Convolvulus jalapa by Desfontaines, in the 
Annales du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle ; it appears, is the 
Ipomcea macrorhiza of Michaux, a native of Florida and Geor- 
gia. This vegetable, the root of which grows to the weight of 
fifty pounds, so closely resembles the Mexican plant, from which 
jalap is said to be obtained, that Pursh and some other botanists 
have considered them identical. From Dr. Baldwin, however, we 
learn, that the root of this Ipomsea differs widely from jalap in its 
physical properties ; that six drachms of the powder produce no 
cathartic operation ; that, when chemically examined, it exhibits 
no evidence of resin, and that it is saccharine and farinaceous, 
and is sometimes eaten by the negroes. Mr. Elliott concludes, 
either that modern botanists have mistaken the plant of Liniueus, 
or that climate has destroyed its active properties, or that the 
jealousy of the Indians has concealed the plant producing the 
officinal jalap from Europeans. 

Qualities. The Mexican jalap is a fleshy root, brought to this 
country in dried, transverse slices, with some small, roundish 
roots entire. It has a faint, disagreeable smell, and a sweetish, 
rather unpleasant taste, leaving a sense of pungency behind. It 
is heavy, hard and compact, breaking with a resinous fracture. 
It is liable to be corroded by the larva of an insect, so that pieces 
which are found spongy, cellular and light, ought to be rejected. 
The most complete analysis I have seen is that of M. Cadet, who 



JUGLANS. 237 

found that 500 parts of this root afforded 220 of gummy extract, 
50 of resin, I2| of fsecula, 12| of albumen, 145 of woody matter, 
besides various salts and minor ingredients. The resin of jalap 
is its most active constituent, and was formerly separated under 
the name of vmgistery of jalap. It is, however, irregular and 
painful in its operation, and has no advantage over the substance 
of the root. The watery extract is more mild in its effects. 

Uses. Jalap is an efficacious and useful purgative, and as 
such had been long employed by the Mexicans before the discov- 
ery of America. It ranks with the more active cathartics, and is 
resorted to in most of the diseases which call for medicines of that 
class. It sometimes occasions griping, an objection to which all 
the more powerful cathartics are liable. It likewise produces 
nausea in weak and irritable stomachs. But the comparative 
certainty and efficacy of its purgative operation, combined per- 
haps with its cheapness, have brought it into very extensive use. 
The diseases to which it is adapted are of course numerous, yet 
its greatest notoriety has been obtained as a commencing purge 
in fevers, and as a drastic evacuant in dropsy. 

Exhibition. Jalap operates well in the dose of a scruple, and 
powerfully if two scruples are given. The powder is decidedly 
the best form of administering it. On account of the tendency 
which cathartics have to facilitate the operation of each other, 
jalap is usually given in combination with other medicines of the 
same class, particularly calomel. Ten grains of each of these 
medicines, intimately rubbed together, form a common, as well as 
active and useful purge. Another favorite mode of combina- 
tion, particularly for inflammatory diseases, and for dropsy ; is 
that with the supertartrate of potass. See Compound powder 
of jalap. 



JUGLANS. 

Butternut. 

The butternut is a common American tree, growing plentifully 
in the northern, middle and western parts of the United States. 
31 



238 JUNIPERUS. 

The sap of this tree affords sugar like that of the maple, and the 
nuts, although extremely oily, are not unpleasant to the taste. 
The bark is the part used in medicine, and that considered 
most efficacious is the inner bark of the root. It appears from 
chemical examination, that the bark is not distinctly resinous nor 
astringent. Its activity seems to reside in an extractive portion, 
readily soluble in water. This portion has a decidedly laxative 
effect on the bowels, operating with great mildness and ease. It 
has possessed some celebrity in dysentery, but its common use is 
as an aperient in cases of habitual costiveness. On account of 
its bulk, the bark is not commonly given in substance. The 
Extract of butternut is greatly preferable ; which see. 



JUNIPERUS. 

Juniper. 

The juniper tree of Europe seldom exceeds the dimensions of 
a large shrub, and is subject to several varieties in growth and 
size. A remarkable variety is found in the United States, distin- 
guished by its prostrate mode of growth, and spreading into beds 
of considerable size 5 on which account some have considered it 
a distinct species. 

Juniper berries have a strong, peculiar taste, accompanied with 
considerable sweetness. When long chewed, they leave behind 
an impression of bitterness. The sweetness appears to reside 
in the saccharine matter of the pulp, the bitterness in the seeds or 
their immediate investment, and the aromatic flavour in the es- 
sential oil. On this account, tinctures made from the whole 
berries are commonly sweet, while those from the bruised ber- 
ries are bitter. These berries, which are the officinal part of the 
tree, have long possessed the character of a diuretic in dropsical 
cases ; and it is from the impregnation of their essential oil, that 
the spirit denominated gin derives its diuretic property. In the 
inferior kinds of gin, the oil of juniper is counterfeited by oil of 



JUNIPERUS VIRGINIANA. 239 

turpentine. Like many other medicines of its class, juniper not 
only stimulates the kidnies, but at the same time acts on the 
neighboring organs. Hence it has been found advantageous in 
uterine obstructions, paralysis of the neck of the bladder, &c. 
From half a drachm to a drachm of the berries are given at a 
dose. The American berries are far inferior to the European in 
strength; of which last, the Italian berries are considered best. 
The test of goodness is in their juiciness and the pungency of 
their oil. Unfortunately a great portion of the berries sold in our 
shops are the refuse of gin distilleries, which, being deprived of 
their essential oil, are tasteless and inert. 



JUNIPERUS VIRGINIANA. 

Red Cedar. 

This is a tree growing on rocky, barren hills, throughout the 
United States, and often, though improperly, called Savin. Its 
leaves have a strong, unpleasant and pungent taste, residing 
principally in a resin and a volatile oil, which they appear to 
contain. The red cedar resembles the European savin not only 
in its botanical habit, but also in its sensible and medicinal pro- 
perties. It appears to have been first introduced into practice 
under a supposition of its identity with the true savin. Like 
that tree, its leaves are found to be stimulant, diuretic and em- 
menagogue, and have been used with some success for rheuma- 
tism, dropsy and catamenial obstructions, in doses of one or two 
scruples. But the chief officinal use of this article is in the com- 
position of the irritating cerate, which bears its name, and is de- 
scribed in its proper place. 



240 KINO. 



KINO. 

Kino. 

Origin. Kino appears to be a vegetable extract prepared 
from an astringent tree. Since it was introduced by Dr. Fother- 
gill, a number of different varieties, bearing the name of kino, 
have been imported from different parts of the globe into the 
markets of this country and Europe. The African kino, it ap- 
pears from specimens collected by Mungo Park, is obtained from 
a nondescript species of Pterocarpus. The New Holland kino 
is the inspissated juice of the Eucalyptus resinifera. That im- 
ported from Jamaica is produced by the Coccoloba uvifera. The 
East India kino, which at present is the predominating sort in 
commerce, according to Mr. Thomson, comes from Amboyna ; 
but the tree which yields it is not stated. It is remarkable that 
the London, Edinburgh and Dublin colleges, have all directed 
different kinds of kino, the last referring to Butea frondosa as 
the source of the drug. 

Qualities. The sorts of kino generally agree in possessing a 
dark-brownish colour, an austere and very astringent taste, and 
the form of glossy, angular fragments. They differ from each 
other in various minute characteristics. Tannin and extractive 
are the principal chemical constituents, to which they all owe 
their efficacy. 

Uses. Kino is a strong astringent and styptic, employed both 
internally and externally in various debilitating discharges. Its 
dose is one or two scruples. Its force is weakened rather than 
increased by combination with some of the mineral astringents, 
in consequence of the chemical action, which takes place between 
them. Kino may be advantageously superseded by many of our 
native astringents, such as statice, geranium, &c. a change which 
its variable character would leave little cause to regret. 



LACTUCARIUM.— LACTUCA ELONGATA. 241 



LACTUCARIUM. 

Lactucarium. 

Common garden lettuce, like many plants of its class, exudes 
a milky juice on being wounded after it is fully grown. This 
juice concretes, on exposure to the air, into a brownish, bitter 
substance, resembling opium in some of its characters. It is 
most abundant when the plant is in flower, and least so while 
the leaves are young, or when they are etiolated by heading. Lac- 
tucarium has the colour, and in some degree the taste and odour 
of opium, for which it has been proposed as a substitute by Dr. 
Coxe and Dr. Duncan. It has been said to contain morphia 
in addition to its other component parts. It acts as a soporific, 
and has been thought useful in phthisis as a palliative. Dose, one 
or two grains. 



LACTUCA ELONGATA. 

Wild Lettuce. 

This is a tall, lactescent, native plant. It is substituted for 
the Lactuca virosa of Europe, which it somewhat resembles in 
its properties, though of inferior strength. I have no personal ex- 
perience with this plant, but am informed by physicians who have 
tried it, that it is anodyne, and promotes the excretions of the 
skin and kidnies. An extract made by inspissating the express- 
ed juice may be given in doses of from five to fifteen grains. 
The concrete, lactescent juice would probably be found much 
stronger. 



242 LAURUS CASSIA.— LAVANDULA. 



LAURUS CASSIA. 

Cassia Bark. 

This bark is usually viewed as an inferior kind of cinnamon, 
which spice it greatly resembles in its sensible properties, being, 
however, less agreeable to the taste, more pungent and slimy when 
chewed. The bark is not divested, like cinnamon, of its outer 
coating, and to this circumstance some have ascribed all the dif- 
ference between the two articles, supposing them actually to pro- 
ceed from the same tree. The inner portion of cassia bark con- 
tains its chief strength, and closely resembles cinnamon in its 
properties. Its medicinal qualities and dose are essentially the 
same. Cassia buds contain the same aromatic oil with the bark, 
and have been supposed to be the flower buds of the cinnamon 
tree. 



LAVANDULA. 

Lavender. 

Lavender is a shrubby plant of the south of Europe, capable of 
being cultivated in most parts of the United States, and in fact 
frequently found in our gardens. The flowering spikes should 
be cut for use in dry weather, while they are beginning to expand. 
The flowers have an agreeable, fragrant odour, and a pungent, bit- 
terish taste. These properties reside in a volatile oil. Laven- 
der is a warm stimulant and diaphoretic, and is employed, on 
account of its agreeable taste, as an adjunct to various medicines. 
It is rarely given alone in substance. 



LICHEN. 243 



LICHEN. 

Iceland Moss. 

Origin. This cryptogamous plant is found in most mountain- 
ous tracts, throughout northern Europe, and is particularly 
abundant in the island, the name of which it bears. In this 
country I have met with it on the White Mountains, and in 
different parts of the New England states. 

Qualities. It is mucilaginous and bitter. It communicates 
these qualities to boiling water, which becomes strongly impreg- 
nated with the bitter, and, on cooling, is converted into a soft 
solid, like jelly. The gelatinous portion is precipitated by infu- 
sion of galls. According to Proust, 100 parts of lichen afford 
64 of a substance insoluble in hot water, somewhat resembling 
vegetable gluten ; S3 parts of a matter soluble in hot water, 
resembling starch ; and 3 parts of bitter extractive. 

Uses. This lichen is nutritive, tonic and demulcent. In the 
north of Europe it has for a long time been resorted to as a medi- 
cine in pulmonary complaints ; and more recently it has acquired 
in England considerable reputation as a palliative in phthisis. Its 
powers in that disease have, no doubt, been overrated ; yet it of- 
ten proves highly grateful to phthisical patients, to whom it ap- 
pears nutritive and tonic, without having any tendency to aggra- 
vate the hectic symptoms. In inflammations confined to the 
mucous membrane of the lungs, it is a useful demulcent. 

Exhibition. When intended to act as a tonic, the simple 
decoction may be used, in such doses as are agreeable to the stom- 
ach. But when employed as an article of diet, the plant should 
be bruised and macerated cold, in several successive waters, to 
extract a part tf its bitterness, before it is boiled to a jelly. In 
this way the Laplanders prepare it, who use it in various ways as 
food. 



244 LIMON.— L1MONIS OLEUM. 



LIMON. 

Lemon, 

Origin. The lemon tree derives its specific name from the 
country of Media, from whence it was brought into Italy by the 
Romans, after the time of Pliny. It is now cultivated in most 
warm countries. 

Qualities. The peel of lemons is bitter and aromatic, and is 
occasionally added to stomachic medicines. Lemon juice is one 
of the most grateful vegetable acids. It owes its qualities to the 
citric acid, which it contains in combination with water, mucilage, 
some extractive and sugar. The juice is prone to spoil by keep- 
ing, on which account a formula has been introduced for obtaining 
the pure citric acid in a crystallized state. 

Uses. Lemon juice, largely diluted with water, is used as a 
refrigerant drink in febrile complaints. It may be given freely in 
such cases, when not contraindicated by diarrhoea, or pains of the 
stomach and bowels. In long sea voyages it is relied on as a 
preventive and remedy for scurvy. Mixed with common sea 
salt, and diluted with water, it forms a useful gargle in different 
forms of cynanche ; and has obtained much reputation in warm 
climates in remittent fevers, dysentery and diabetes. The effer- 
vescing mixture, formed by the extemporaneous addition of a 
table spoonful of lemon juice to a dozen or fifteen grains of sub- 
carbonate of potass, previously dissolved in water, is useful to 
allay vomiting, and promote diaphoresis. The effervescence is 
more brisk, if a scruple of the carbonate is used instead of the 
subcarbonate. 



LIMONIS OLEUM. 

Oil of Lemon. 

The rind of the lemon is covered with little vesicles, contain- 
ing a delightfully fragrant, volatile oil. This, when separated by 



LINI SEMINA.— LINI OLEUM. 245 

distillation, is highly prized as a perfume, and is used in pharma- 
cy to improve the flavour of compound medicines, and to conceal 
the smell of offensive ointments. Like other volatile oils, it is 
stimulating and diaphoretic, if taken internally, even in minute 
doses. 



LINI SEMINA. 

Flaxseed. 

The seeds of common flax contain about one sixth part of their 
weight of fixed oil ; besides which their external coating abounds 
with a mucilaginous substance, which is extracted nearly pure by 
boiling water, giving it a ropy consistence and a mawkish taste. 
Flaxseed tea is a common demulcent, very useful in catarrh and 
pneumonia, in dysenteric affections, and particularly in strangury 
and other inflammations of the urinary passages. It is a conve- 
nient vehicle for opiate injections. When the seeds are boiled, 
a portion of the oil, as well as mucus, is communicated to the 
decoction. 



LINI OLEUM. 

Flaxseed Oil. Called Linseed Oil. 

Common linseed oil has a disagreeable odour and taste. It 
boils at 600° of Fahrenheit, and is not congealed by any cold 
above 0°. Four ounces of alcohol dissolve one drachm of it, but 
the same quantity of ether takes up a fluidounce and a half. It 
thickens, becomes very tenacious, and finally dries, either by long 
boiling, or by exposure to the air. Combined with the metallic 
oxides, it forms plasters. As a vehicle for colouring substances, it 
is extensively used in the arts. The cold-pressed oil has the 
least colour and taste. Like other fixed oils, this oil is laxative 
in the dose of an ounce ; but, on account of its disagreeable taste, 
32 



246 LINIMENTA. 



it is seldom used internally. Externally it forms an emollient 
application, which has acquired considerable repute in cases of 
burns and scalds. 



LIMMENTA. 

Liniments. 

Liniments are fluid, oily preparations, intended as expeditious 
dressings for large surfaces, or as convenient applications to be 
rubbed on the skin, with a view to their medicinal effects. They 
are most conveniently applied with flannel. 

Linimentum Ammonije. Liniment of Ammonia.-^-\Juder 
the name of Volatile liniment, this preparation and others of less 
strength are much used as external stimulants in sore throats, 
rheumatism, &c. The ingredients unite and form a white, sa* 
ponaceous compound, which, if the water of ammonia be good, 
acts almost immediately on being applied to the skin. It should 
not be applied about the neck and chest in pulmonary complaints, 
as the vapour of the ammonia is apt to excite coughing. 

Linimentum Ammonije et Antimonii Tartarizati. Lin- 
iment of Ammonia with Tartarized Antimony. — From the ac- 
tive nature of its ingredients, this seems calculated for an exter- 
nal stimulant of great power. It is probable, however, that its 
activity is modified by the formation of new chemical compounds. 

Linimentum Aqu^e Calcis. Liniment of Lime Water.-r 
This saponaceous liniment is a popular and very useful applica- 
tion in cases of burns and scalds. It is gently astringent, and 
serves to moderate the suppurative discharge, which is apt to be 
profuse in these cases. 



LINIMENTA. . 247 

Linimentum Camphoratum. Camphorated Liniment — 
Camphor, dissolved in oil, forms a liniment well adapted to rheu- 
matism, sprains, glandular swellings, &c. 

Linimentum Cantharidum. Liniment of Cantharides. — 
This liniment is one of the most powerful epispastics. As the 
activity of flies is liable to be diminished by too much heat, it is 
best to prepare this article at a temperature below that of boiling 
water. See Cantharides. 

Linimentum Saponis Camphoratum. Camphorated Soap 
Liniment. Opodeldoc. — This is one of a variety of preparations 
sold under the name cf opodeldoc, and which have long been 
popular as stimulant and anodyne applications in sprains, rheu- 
matism, and other local pains. 

Linimentum Saponis et Opii. Liniment of Soap and 
Opium. — This resembles the preceding article in its uses and 
effects. The addition of opium is supposed to increase its ano- 
dyne powers ; but that it can have this effect in a great degree, 
is not very probable. 

Linimentum Tabaci. Liniment of Tobacco. — This liniment, 
or, more properly, ointment, is employed in tinea capitis, herpes, 
and other cutaneous affections ; care being taken not to apply it 
to so large a surface at once, as to occasion constitutional symp- 
toms from the tobacco. 

Linimentum Terebintrtn.e compositum. Compound Lini- 
ment of Turpentine. — This liniment was introduced by Dr. 
Kentish as an application to burns and scalds. Much diversity of 
opinion, however, has prevailed in regard to the propriety of the 
terebinthinate practice in such cases. 



248 LIRIODENDRON.— LOBELIA, 



LIRIODENDRON. 

Tulip Tree, 

This lofty tree, distinguished by its fine flowers and truncated 
leaves, is a native of the American forest, as far north as New 
England. Its bark has a very bitter taste, and a strong, aromatic 
pungency, which latter property appears to reside in a volatile 
oil. Resin, mucus and extractive are also present. Water ex- 
tracts its bitterness, but diluted alcohol is the most universal sol- 
vent of its properties. Medicinally considered, the bark of this 
tree is a stimulating tonic and diaphoretic. In various parts of 
the United States it has been successfully employed in intermit- 
tent fever, given in the same way as the Peruvian bark. In 
chronic rheumatism it acts usefully as a warm sudorific. A 
saturated tincture may be given in doses of a fluidrachm ; or a 
decoction may be prepared and exhibited, like that of cinchona. 



LOBELIA. 

Indian Tobacco, 

The Lobelia inflata is an annual, American plant, found in a 
great variety of soils throughout the United States. 

Qualities. It is lactescent, like many others of its genus. 
When chewed it communicates to the mouth a burning, pungent 
sensation, which remains long in the fauces, resembling the effect 
of green tobacco. The plant contains caoutchouc, extractive, 
and an acrid principle, which is present in the tincture, decoction, 
and distilled water. 

Uses. The lobelia is a prompt emetic, attended with nar- 
cotic effects during its operation. If a leaf or capsule be held in 
the mouth for a short time, it brings on giddiness, head-ache, a 



MAGNESIA. 249 

trembling agitation of the whole body, sickness, and finally vomit- 
ing. These effects are analogous to those which tobacco pro- 
duces in the unaccustomed. If swallowed in substance, it ex- 
cites speedy vomiting, accompanied with distressing and long- 
continued sickness, and even with dangerous symptoms, if the 
dose be large. On account of the violence of its operation, it is 
probable that this plant will never come into use for the common 
purposes of an emetic. It is, however, entitled to notice as a 
remedy in asthma and some other pulmonary affections. It pro- 
duces relief in asthmatic cases, sometimes without vomiting, but 
more frequently after discharging the contents of the stomach. 
On account of the harshness of its operation, it is reluctantly re- 
sorted to by patients, who expect relief from any milder means. 
It, however, certainly relieves some cases, in which other emetic 
substances fail. In small doses the lobelia is found a good ex- 
pectorant for pneumonia, in its advanced stages, and for catarrh. 
In rheumatism it has also been found of service. 

Exhibition. The strength of the lobelia varies with its age 
and other circumstances. In some instances a grain will produce 
vomiting. The tincture is most frequently given in asthma, in 
doses of about a fluidrachm. 



MAGNESIA. 

Magnesia. 

When common carbonate of magnesia is exposed to heat for a 
sufficient time, the carbonic acid is driven off in the form of gas, 
and magnesia, in a state nearly of purity, remains. From the pro- 
cess employed to obtain it, it is often known by the name of 
calcined magnesia. When pure, it is the oxide of a metal dis- 
covered by Sir H. Davy, and called Magnesium. 

Qualities. Magnesia is a white, soft powder, having a slight, 
subalkaline taste, and capable of turning vegetable blues to green. 
Its specific gravity is about 2.3. It is nearly insoluble, but, like 



250 MAGNES1JE CARBONAS. 

lime, is more soluble in cold water than in warm. According to 
Mr. Fyfe's experiments, it requires 5142 parts of water for its so- 
lution at 60°, and 36000 parts at 212°. The cold solution be- 
comes turbid on being raised to the boiling point. But, notwith- 
standing its difficult solution, it increases the solubility of cam- 
phor, opium and resins in water, and hence its use in infusions 
of bark, &c. 

Uses and Exhibition. These are the same with those of the 
Carbonate of Magnesia; which see. It has, however, the supe- 
rior advantage, that it does not occasion flatulence, which the 
carbonate is liable to do. 



MAGNESIJE CARBONAS. 

Carbonate of Magnesia. 

There is some reason for denominating the common article of 
the shops a subcarbonate of magnesia, since a perfect crystallized 
carbonate may be obtained by a suitable process. But, as it oc- 
curs in commerce, it is a mechanical mixture of magnesia in dif- 
ferent states of combination, together with occasional admixture 
of other substances ; so that Dr. Thomson is of opinion, that it 
cannot be considered as a definite chemical compound. 

Origin. This article, as most frequently met with in com- 
merce, is prepared at salt manufactories from the bittern, which 
remains after the crystallization of common salt from sea water. 
This bittern is heated to 212°, a solution of common pearlash is 
added, and the fire withdrawn. Carbonate of magnesia is depos- 
ited, and is afterwards separated from the liquid by a linen 
strainer. It is subsequently washed by repeated affusions of 
pure boiling water, and dried with a gentle heat. Sometimes 
the bittern is decomposed by a crude subcarbonate of ammonia 
obtained from the distillation of bones in iron cylinders. Muriate 
of ammonia and carbonate of magnesia result. The former is 
evaporated to dryness, mixed with chalk and sublimed. Sub- 



MAGNESIA CARBONAS. 251 

carbonate of ammonia is thus recovered, with which a new quan- 
tity of bittern may be decomposed, and the process repeated 
indefinitely, forming a very economical method. Sometimes 
magnesian limestones are acted upon by the bittern, and the 
article produced in the large way. The Edinburgh formula is as 
follows : 

Take of Sulphate of magnesia, four parts ; 

Subcarbonate of potass, three parts ; 
Boiling water, a sufficient quantity. 

Dissolve the salts separately in twice their weight of water, and 
strain, or otherwise free from impurities ; then mix them, and 
instantly add eight times their weight of boiling water. Boil the 
liquor for a short time, stirring it ; then let it remain at rest un- 
til the heat be a little diminished, and strain it through linen, 
upon which the carbonate of magnesia will remain. The carbo- 
nate, after being well washed with pure water, is to be dried with 
a gentle heat. — Distilled or rain water should be used in the 
foregoing processes, and the solution of subcarbonate of potass 
should be exposed to the air, or a stream of carbonic acid gas, 
sometime before it is used. 

Qualities. It is inodorous and nearly insipid, white, opaque 
and extremely light. It is nearly insoluble in water, requiring 
2493 parts of cold, and 9000 parts of boiling water for its solution. 
It effervesces with acids. It is decomposed by all the acids, al- 
kalies, neutral salts, lime, barytes, alumina, and by a strong heat. 

Uses. Carbonate of magnesia is most used as an antacid and 
laxative. When it meets with an acid in the stomach, it com- 
bines with it, forming a purgative salt ; but when no acidity is 
present, it is nearly inert. It is on this account an uncertain 
cathartic, and is to be resorted to by those only, who suffer from 
acidity, or with whom other cathartics disagree. In some pa- 
tients this medicine occasions troublesome flatulence, by the 
disengagement of its carbonic acid in the alimentary canal. In 
such cases the pure calcined magnesia is to be preferred. 

Magnesia and its carbonate have been substituted for alkalies 
in the treatment of calculous disorders, particularly in cases of 



252 MAGNESIA SULPHAS. 

lithic calculus. But some caution is requisite in using it, and 
Dr. Marcet supposes that much evil has resulted from its im- 
proper administration. Where it is prescribed without any pre- 
vious knowledge of the nature of the calculus, the chances that it 
will prove injurious or otherwise are about equal ; because this 
earth constitutes a basis in one of the most common calculi, viz. 
the ammoniaco-magnesian phosphate. The neutralizing of acids 
bj it in the alimentary canal may prove useful or detrimental, 
according to the nature of the stony concretion. 

Exhibition. For a cathartic, from half a drachm to two 
drachms form a dose. In lithic calculus, from a scruple to a 
drachm has been proposed by Mr. Hatch ett. Its most convenient 
vehicles are water and milk. The habitual or long-continued 
use of magnesia has sometimes occasioned the accumulation and 
consolidation of large masses in the intestines, a remarkable case 
of which kind is detailed in Brande's Journal, Vol. I. 



MAGNESIA SULPHAS. 

Sulphate of Magnesia. Called Epsom Salt. 

Origin. This salt is found native, both pure and in combina- 
tion with gypsum. It was also, for a considerable time, made by 
evaporating the water of Epsom springs in England, whence its 
name is derived. At the present day, most of the Epsom salt of 
commerce is made from the bittern, which remains after the for- 
mation of sea salt. This bitter water is a concentrated solution 
of several salts, the affinities of whose elements are remarkably 
modified by temperature. At a warm temperature, sulphate of 
magnesia and muriate of soda are produced, while at temperatures 
below 32°, the reverse takes place, resulting in the production 
of sulphate of soda and muriate of magnesia. 

Qualities. Sulphate of magnesia exists usually in the form 
of small, needle-like crystals ; but the form of its regular crystal 



MAGNOLIA. 253 

is a quadrangular prism acuminated by four planes. Its taste 
is bitter and nauseous. It is soluble in its own weight of water 
at 60°. When pure, it effloresces in the air, but it is commonly 
united with muriate of magnesia, which disposes it to deliquesce, 
in which case it must be kept in tight vessels. It is decomposed 
by the alkalies and their carbonates, lime water, &c. 

Uses. Epsom salt is an excellent cathartic, operating with 
mildness and certainty, and frequently remaining on the stomach 
when other purgatives are rejected. It is also diuretic. Its dis- 
agreeable taste, however, has rendered it less popular than some 
of the other saline cathartics. 

Exhibition. An ounce, dissolved in water, is a medium 
dose. In irritable states of the stomach, it should be taken in 
divided doses. The taste is best concealed by holding brandy in 
the mouth, just before the salt is taken. 



MAGNOLIA, 

Magnolia. 

The magnolia tree, of which our country possesses many spe- 
cies, is not less remarkable for the beauty of its flowers, than for 
the aromatic qualities of its bark. Most of the species are bitter 
and spicy to the taste, and agree in their medicinal effects, though 
M. glauca is the one which has been most frequently used. The 
aroma resides in a volatile principle, which appears to be an es- 
sential oil. Magnolia bark is an aromatic tonic, resembling cas- 
carilla and canella in its character. It has been advantageously 
used in rheumatism as a warm stimulant and diaphoretic, and in 
intermittent and remittent fevers as a tonic. From one to two 
scruples may be given at a dose. In rheumatism the tincture 
has been preferred. 



33 



254 MANNA. 

MANNA. 

Manna. 

Origin. Various trees, principally species of ash, afford 
manna in small quantities; but the common drug is supplied al- 
most exclusively by the Fraocinus ornus. It exudes spontane- 
ously from the trunk and branches of this tree in dry, warm 
weather, and concretes into whitish tears. It is obtained, howev- 
er, in larger quantities by making artificial incisions in the bark. 
Some of it is scraped off into baskets, constituting the manna 
grassa, or fat manna ; while a finer sort is collected upon straws 
and pieces of wood, forming the canulated or flaky manna. Si- 
cily and Naples furnish the principal supply of commerce. 

Qualities. The choicest manna is in oblong pieces or flakes, 
moderately dry, friable, pale and semitransparent. It is con- 
sidered of inferior quality, although not less purgative, if moist, 
unctuous, or very dark coloured. The taste of manna is sweet, 
but somewhat nauseous, it is wholly soluble in water, and hot 
alcohol. — Thenard, who has analyzed manna, states that it is 
made up principally of two substances ; the one crystal lizable 
and sweet, to which he gives the name of mannite ; the other un- 
crystallizable and mucous. He presumes that this last contains 
a third, on which the taste and smell depend. The purgative 
property resides in the uncrystallizable part, and it is found that 
mannite, also manna in tears, which is chiefly composed of it ; are 
scarcely, if at all, purgative. Mannite is deposited by cooling 
from the hot alcoholic solution of manna. It differs from sugar 
in not being soluble in cold alcohol, and in not undergoing readily 
the vinous fermentation. 

Uses. Manna is a feeble purgative, requiring large doses for 
its operation, and more frequently given as an adjunct to senna 
and other cathartics, than administered alone. It is apt to occa- 
sion heartburn, flatulence and griping. 

Exhibition. An ounce or two are necessary to operate on an 
adult. From its resemblance to sugar, it is readily eaten by 
children, to whom it proves laxative in the dose of a drachm and 
upwards. 



MARANTA.— MARRUBIUM. 05$ 



MARANTA. 

Arrow Root. 

The Maranta arundinacea is a native of South America, and 
is now cultivated in the West India Islands, and in some of the 
southern parts of the United States. The roots of this plant are 
ground or beaten and agitated with water, until that liquid be- 
comes turbid with their farinaceous portion. It is then poured 
off, and the fine powder which subsides is dried and constitutes 
the arrow root of commerce. 

Qualities. This substance is almost pure fcecula or starch, 
being insoluble in alcohol, ether and cold water, but readily dis- 
solving in hot water, forming a pearly, gelatinous solution, with 
little taste or smell. 

Uses. Arrow root is nutritious and demulcent, and forms an 
important article in the diet of the sick. It is peculiarly adapted 
for the support of patients in fever, being sufficiently nutritive, 
and, if not digested, being less apt to occasion distress by its fer- 
mentation, than any animal substance, and than most articles de- 
rived from the vegetable kingdom. It is a popular and useful 
addition to the diet of infants recently weaned. In common with 
other demulcents, it is useful in allaying the irritation of stran- 
gury, dysentery and catarrh. 

Exhibition. A table spoonful of arrow root is sufficient to 
thicken a pint of water. It should first be thoroughly mixed 
with a small quantity of cold water, and then added, with stir- 
ring, to the rest of the water while boiling. It is rendered more 
palatable by a little wine and spice. 



MARRUBIUM. 

Horehound. 

Horehound is a cultivated plant, very bitter, and, in its recent 
state, aromatic. It is tonic, diuretic and laxative, and is a popu- 



256 TilEL.— MELLITA. 



lar remedy in coughs, catarrh, and catamenial irregularities ; be- 
ing given in infusion. 



MEL. 

Honey. 



Origin, Honey is secreted in the nectaries of flowers, and is 
collected from thence by the bees. It probably undergoes some 
change in the bodies of these insects before it is excreted by 
them and deposited in the comb. Honey is often impregnated 
with the flavour of particular plants, which predominate in the 
locality where it is collected. It also varies in consistence and 
colour. That imported from the West Indies is thinner and 
less sweet than the honey of the United States. The purest 
honey is separated from the combs by dripping, without pressure. 

Qualities. Honey has a fragrant odour, and a sweet, acidu- 
lous taste. Its colour with us is commonly yellow. In Abyssi- 
nia, Mr. Bruce met with honey which was red as blood* When 
fresh it is a viscid fluid, sufficiently thin to flow readily ; it stiff- 
ens with cold, and by age and exposure is partly crystallized. 
It contains sugar, mucilage, wax, an acid, and commonly some 
essential oil. It undergoes the vinous and acetous fermentations ; 
and largely diluted with water and fermented, it forms mead. 

Uses. It is used in pharmacy as a vehicle for different 
medicines, chiefly of the expectorant kind. It is nutritive in 
small quantities, and laxative in large ones. It is a popular ad- 
dition to various demulcents for catarrh, and gargles for sore 
throats and aphthous affections. 



- MELLITA. 

Prepared Honeys. 

Mel Despumatum. Clarified Honey. — This is honey freed 
from those impurities, which are light enough to rise to the sur- 
face when it is liquified by heat 



MENTHA PIPERITA. 257 

Mel ScilljE acetatum. Jicetated Honey of Squill. Call- 
ed Oxymel of Squill.— -This is an old and popular preparation of 
squill, employed as an expectorant, and sometimes as an emetic, 
in asthma, catarrh, hooping cough, &c. It is a more uncertain 
preparation than the Syrup of Squill, since the consistence to 
which it is to be boiled is left discretionary with the apothecary, 
and the long continuance of heat is apt to diminish the strength 
of the squill. Perhaps, to render the strength uniform, it might 
be well to limit the boiling to one minute. Dose, from a half to 
two fluidrachms. 

Mel Scillje compositum. Compound Honey of Squill. — 
This preparation has been used in croup, and appears well suited 
to the treatment of mild cases, which are susceptible of relief 
from remedies of the emetic class. Dose, from ten minims to a 
fluidrachm, 



MENTHA PIPERITA. 

Peppermint. 

Peppermint is an European plant, frequently cultivated in the 
United States, in most parts of which it succeeds perfectly well. 
It is said that the roots, when cultivated, should be transplanted 
every three years ; otherwise it is apt to degenerate into the fla- 
vour of spearmint. 

Qualities. The odour of both the recent and dried plant is 
a penetrating, grateful aromatic. The taste is pungent, warm 
and bitterish, followed by a sensation of coldness, when air is 
admitted into the mouth. These properties depend chiefly upon 
its volatile oil ; which see. 

Uses. Peppermint is a warm stimulant to the stomach, and 
afterwards to the rest of the body, holding a first rank in the list 
of medicines called carminatives. It is calculated to allay 
spasmodic affections of the stomach and bowels, obviate nausea, 
and expel flatulence. It forms a useful adjunct to an emetic in 



253 MENTHA VIRIDIS.— MENYANTHES. 

persons who are liable to cramps during the operation of those 
medicines. 

Exhibition. See the oil and tincture* 



MENTHA VIRIDIS. 

Spearmint, 

This article, together with a long list of others botanically allied 
to it, resembles peppermint in its medicinal properties, being only 
somewhat less agreeable to the taste. It is applicable to the 
same purposes. Spearmint is now naturalized in the United 

States. 



MENYANTHES. 

Buckbean. 

The Menyanthes trifoliata is common to the northern parts 
of Europe and America, growing in wet situations. The root is 
horizontal and jointed, shrinking to a quarter of its size in dry- 
ing. It has an intensely bitter taste residing in a resinous, ex- 
tractive matter, soluble in alcohol, and partially in water. This 
root is entitled to a high place in the list of tonic medicines. 
When given in small doses, about ten grains, it imparts vigour to 
the stomach and strengthens digestion. Its tincture, moderately 
used, has the same effect. Large doses, such as a drachm of the 
powdered root, or two or three gills of a saturated decoction, 
produce vomiting and purging, and frequently powerful diapho- 
resis. In this respect it resembles many other bitters, and, like 
them, is prevented by its bulk and disagreeable taste from being 
much used as an evacuant. 

"We are told by authors that this root has been employed with 
benefit in intermittent and remittent fevers. Boerhaave, in his 
own case of gout, was relieved by drinking the juice of the plant 
mixed with whey. Other physicians have found it useful in 



MEZEREON. 259 

keeping off the paroxysms of that complaint. In cutaneous dis- 
eases, rheumatism, dropsy and worms, it has also had, at different 
times, a share of reputation. 



MEZEREON. 

Mezereon. 

Origin. The Daphne mezereon grows native in the north 
of Europe, and is frequently cultivated in gardens, in this coun- 
try, on account of its early, rose-coloured flowers, which appear 
in March, long before the leaves. The roots of this shrub are 
dug for use in autumn, after the leaves have fallen. 

Qualities. The inner bark of this shrub is highly acrid, creat- 
ing in the mouth and fauces a burning sensation, which remains 
for a long time. Applied to the skin, it excites inflammation and 
blistering. The fruit and some other parts, if taken in large quan- 
tities, operate as an acrid poison. The bark retains its pungency 
when dried. Water and vinegar have been found to extract its 
properties. By digesting the bark in alcohol, then evaporating 
the liquid to separate the resin, and diluting the residual fluid 
with water ; filtering and adding acetate of lead ; Vauquelin 
obtained a copious yellow precipitate, which, when freed from 
the lead by means of sulphuretted hydrogen, he found to be a 
vegetable principle, sui generis, to which he has given the name 
of Daphnin. 

Uses. This medicine is a strong general stimulant; in large 
doses acting by vomiting and purging ; and in smaller ones deter- 
mining powerfully to the surface. Its most efficacious use is in 
chronic rheumatism, which disease it occasionally relieves, like 
other stimulants of its class. The confidence, which it formerly 
possessed, as a remedy in syphilis, scrofula and cutaneous dis- 
eases, is now very much impaired. It is used as a topical stimu- 
lant in paralytic affections of the mouth. 

Exhibition. Dose, in powder, from one to ten grains in milk 
or jelly. See Decoction. 



260 MISTUR*. 

MISTURM. 

Mixtures. 

Mixtures are liquid preparations, in which some insoluble in- 
gredients are held in suspension by viscid fluids. The name 
includes what have been called Emulsions, consisting of oils 
diffused through water by the aid of gummy or saccharine ingre- 
dients. Mixtures are extemporaneous preparations, and should 
be shaken before they are used. 

Mistura Ammoniaci. Jlmmoiiiacum Mixture. — This mix- 
ture, from its resemblance to milk, has been called Lac ammo- 
niaci. It is a white liquid, holding the resinous particles of the 
ammoniacum suspended by the gummy parts. It is a convenient 
mode of exhibiting ammoniacum as an expectorant. Dose, half 
a fluidounce. 

Mistura Amygdalae. Almond Mixture. — This is a pleasant, 
demulcent liquid, to be drunk in strangury, catarrh, and various 
inflammatory complaints. 

Mistura Ammoniaci et Antimonii. Mixture of Ammo- 
niacum and Antimony. White Mixture. — This is a useful ex- 
pectorant and demulcent in catarrh, taken in the dose of half a 
fluidounce three times a day or oftener. 

Mistura Calcis Carbonatis. Mixture of Carbonate of 
Lime. — Under the name of Chalk mixture, this medicine has 
acquired popularity in the diarrhcea of children, after evacuants. 
It is demulcent, antacid, and pleasant to the taste. Dose, about 
a fluidrachm for infants. 

Mistura Camphors. Camphor Mixture. — The more equal- 
ly camphor is diffused in the stomach, the more favorably does 



MONARDA. 261 

it exert its effects, and the less liable is it to occasion nausea or 
oppression. On this account the mixture, in the dose of about 
two fluidrachms, is one of the best forms for its exhibition. 

Mistura Ferri composita. Compound Mixture of Iron. 
Called Myrrh Mixture. — This compound has long been known 
under the name of Griffith's myrrh mixture, or Jintihectic mix- 
ture. It was probably, in the first instance, an accidental or ar- 
bitrary combination of ingredients made without reference to 
their chemical relations. It has however occupied a considerable 
share of the attention of medical chemists, being condemned or 
applauded, according to the satisfaction derived from tracing its 
various decompositions. It is rendered stimulating by the myrrh 
and lavender, and slightly tonic by the carbonate of iron, winch 
it forms. It is used in amenorrhea, advanced phthisis, &c. 
in a dose of one or two fluidounces. 

Mistura Magnesia. Magnesia Mixture. — This is a plea- 
sant antacid and laxative, in the dose of about two fluidounces. 

Mistura Moschi. Musk Mixture* — Musk is conveniently 
exhibited in this form, the dose of the preparation being two fluid- 
ounces. 

Mistura Zinci Sulphatis. Sulphate of Zinc Mixture. — 
A fluidounce of this liquid contains about a scruple of sulphate 
of zinc, and may be taken at once for an emetic in any urgent 
ease, and repeated if necessary. The spirit of lavender serves 
to cover the taste of the metallic salt. 



MONARDA. 

Monarda. 

This is a very pungent aromatic, growing native in the United 
States, with various other species, some of which resemble it in 
34 



262 MOSCHUS. 

efficacy. In different parts of the country it is known by the 
names of Mountain-balm and Horsemint. It is a warm diapho- 
retic, anti-emetic and carminative; used in flatulent colics, 
rheumatism, &c. The distilled oil, according to Dr. Atlee, is one 
of the most powerful rubefacients. See Distilled oils. 



MOSCHUS. 

Musk. 

Origin. The musk deer, Moschus moschiferus, inhabits the 
mountains of eastern Asia, and particularly the sides of the lofty 
Himalaya range, on which it ascends to a great height. Musk is 
secreted by this animal in an oval bag, flat on one side and con- 
vex on the other, about three inches long, situated between the 
navel and prepuce in the male. The best musk comes from 
China, and inferior sorts from Bengal and Russia. As the high 
price of musk often leads to its adulteration, the bags should be 
carefully examined to see that they have not been opened. The 
musk should not emit a fetid smell when heated, nor melt so as 
to run before it inflames. 

Qualities. Musk exists in the bags in the form of grains 
concreted together, dry, slightly unctuous, and free from gritti- 
ness. Its odour is powerful and penetrating, but not disagreeable 
in small quantity ; the taste is bitterish, and the colour brownish- 
red. It burns with a white flame, leaving a spongy coal. Boil- 
ing water dissolves a part of it, alcohol still more, and ether 
more than either. According to Mr. Thomson, it consists chiefly 
of a resin combined with a volatile oil, and a mucilaginous, ex- 
tractive matter ; together with some albumen, gelatin, muriate of 
ammonia, phosphate of soda, and an uncombined acid. 

Uses. Musk is considered stimulant, cordial and antispas- 
modic. It is given in hysteria and various forms of nervous 
weakness; in gastrodynia; in convulsions where palliatives are 
indicated ; and even in tetanus and epilepsy. It has also been 



MYRISTICA. 263 

commended in the low stages of typhus, as a remedy for the 
symptoms of delirium, subsultus, &c. Its scarcity and high 
price,* however, must always limit its use ; and we shall not, per- 
haps, regret its absence, while we have the more effectual anti- 
spasmodics, opium, wine, camphor, ammonia, &c. Musk is used 
as a perfume, and has the property, in minute quantities, of great- 
ly enhancing the odour of other perfumes. 

Exhibition. From ten to thirty grains may be given three 
times a day in a bolus or mixture. 



MYRISTICA. 

Nutmeg. 

Origin. The nutmeg tree is cultivated in the Molucca 
Islands, from whence the principal supply has long been derived. 
It bears a drupaceous fruit, at the centre of which the nutmeg 
exists as a nucleus, immediately invested with a secondary cover- 
ing, or arillus, which is the mace. Previously to exportation, the 
nutmegs are exposed to heat and smoke for three months, then 
steeped in a strong mixture of lime and water, after which they 
are cleaned and packed in boxes. 

Qualities. The nutmeg has a very agreeable, spicy taste and 
odour. Its structure is fibrous and cellular, and filled up with 
oily matter. Mr. Thomson states its chief component parts to be 
starch, gum, volatile oil, wax, and a fixed oil. 

Uses. Nutmeg is chiefly employed as a spice, and an adjunct 
to insipid or unpleasant medicines. It is stimulant and anodyne ; 
and, if a drachm be given, it is liable to produce narcotic symptoms, 
such as stupor and subsequent delirium. 

Exhibition. The quantity taken at once should not exceed 
a scruple. 

* Musk sells for about its weight in gold. 



264 MYRISTICJS OLEUM.— MYROXYLONc 



MYRISTICjE oleum. 

Oil of Nutmeg, Called Oil of Mace. 

Nutmegs contain about one third of their weight of a se- 
baceous, fixed oil, and one thirty-second part of volatile oil. The 
latter may be separated by distillation, and appears to contain 
the active properties of the article. The former is obtained by 
expression, containing also the volatile oil united with it, and is 
known in commerce by the name of Oil of mace. In our climate 
it has the consistence of spermaceti ; is white, variegated with 
brown ; has an agreeable odour, and an oily, bitterish, pungent 
taste. It appears to be a compound of a fixed and volatile oil, 
united with a portion of wax. Its properties resemble those of 
the nutmeg, but its efficacy is not proportioned to its price. 



MYROXYLON. 

Balsam of Peru. 

The warmer parts of South America produce the tree from 
which this balsam is obtained. It is procured by making in- 
cisions in the bark, and also by boiling the twigs in water. This 
balsam has a fragrant smell, and a bitterish, pungent taste. It is 
viscid, of a deep reddish-brown colour, and the consistence of 
honey. It is chemically a true balsam, consisting of a resin, vola- 
tile oil and benzoic acid. Balsam of Peru is a heating stimulant, 
increasing the discharges of the skin, kidnies, and mucous mem- 
brane of the lungs. It is given in chronic rheumatism, gonorrhea 
and fluor albus. It has been ranked among the expectorants, 
but should not be given during active inflammation of the sub- 
stance of the lungs. Half a fluidrachm is a medium dose. 

It has been lately asserted, that the balsams of Peru and of 
Tolu are the products of the same tree. See Tolutanum. 



MYRRHA.— NUX VOMICA. 265 

MYRRHA. 

Myrrh. 

Origin. Myrrh is imported from Turkey and the East Indies, 
but the plant from which it is obtained is not yet satisfactorily 
known. It is said to grow in the eastern parts of Arabia Felix, 
and of Abyssinia. 

Qualities. It comes in small, roundish or irregular pieces, of 
a reddish-yellow colour, translucent, breaking with a resinous frac- 
ture, and easily pulverized. The smell is fragrant, and the taste 
agreeably aromatic and bitter. It does not melt when heated, 
and is not very inflammable. Water, alcohol and ether dissolve 
portions of it Its constituents are resin, an essential oil heavier 
than water, extractive, and vegetable mucus. Diluted alcohol is 
its best solvent. 

Uses. Myrrh is stimulant and tonic. In small doses it ex- 
cites the stomach, quickens the action of the secretories, and 
proves expectorant and diaphoretic. Large quantities produce 
more arterial excitement, and increase the heat of the body. This 
drug enters into the composition of a number of very common 
and popular medicines. Combined with aloes, the taste of which 
it covers by its own more agreeable flavour, it is a cordial cathartic 
and emmenagogue. With iron and other tonics, it has been 
thought useful in supporting the strength under phthisis. Its 
solutions are advantageously applied as topical remedies to 
ulcers of the mouth and throat. 

Exhibition. A scruple, more or less, may be given in pow- 
der, but the liquid preparations are generally preferable. 



NUX VOMICA. 

Vomic Nut. 

Origin. The Strychnos nux vomica is a tree of the East 
Indies, bearing a round, orange-coloured fruit, the seeds of which 



<26Q OLEA DISTILLATA. 

are the officinal vomic nuts. Upon the continent of Europe they 
are more in use than in England or this country, at the present 
day. 

Qualities. These nuts are roundish, hairy, and ash-coloured. 
When the hairiness is scraped off, the best nuts are of a yellow- 
ish colour, and heavy. The taste is nauseous and bitter. An 
alkaline substance has been obtained from these seeds and those 
of Ignatia amara L. by the French chemists Pelletier and 
Caventou ; to which the name of Strychnia has been given. It 
crystallizes in very small, four-sided prisms, terminated by four- 
sided, low pyramids. It is white, without smell, and intensely 
bitter, leaving a metallic taste in the mouth. This is probably 
the most powerful of all known tastes, being perceptible when a 
grain is dissolved in eighty pounds of water. It is neither fusi- 
ble nor volatile without decomposition. It is soluble in alcohol, 
but scarcely soluble in water. With acids it forms neutral salts, 
which, as well as their base, become blood- red by the action of 
concentrated nitric acid. It is violently poisonous, and destroys 
small animals, with symptoms like locked jaw, in a few minutes, 
in the dose of half a grain. Strychnia is said to exist in the nut 
in combination with a peculiar acid, to which the investigators 
give the name of Igasuric acid. 

Uses, &c. The vomic nut is a narcotic, formerly recommended 
in epilepsy, mania, &c. with other vegetable articles of its class. In 
the French hospitals it has lately acquired considerable credit in 
cases of partial paralysis, given in doses of four or five grains of 
the powder, in pills, during the day. From some cases cited in 
Murray's Apparatus Medicaminum, it appears that a dose of 
twenty, or even fifteen grains, cannot be given with safety. 



OLEA DISTILLATA. 

Distilled Oils, 

Volatile oils exist in various parts of vegetables, from which 
they can be obtained pure only by distillation. Leaves and herbs 



OLEA DISTILLATA. 267 

yield their volatile oil in this process without any previous pre- 
paration ; but woods and barks should be first subdivided bj rasp- 
ing. When introduced into the still, they should be pressed down 
and covered with water. The head of the still being luted on, a 
gentle heat should be applied so as to keep the water at or near 
the boiling point, and continued as long as the vapour which 
comes over contains the taste and smell of the oil. The liquid 
collected in the receiver will be found to consist of water and 
oil. These may be separated from each other by putting the 
whole liquid into a funnel, and drawing off the lower fluid from 
the bottom. 

Volatile oils have a strong, penetrating odour, and a pungent 
taste. Their specific gravity is various, some being lighter, 
others heavier than water. They are highly inflammable. They 
evaporate readily at common temperatures, although some of 
them require a heat of above 300° to make them boil. They are 
readily soluble in alcohol, ether and fixed oils, but are very spar- 
ingly so in water. When long exposed to the air, they assume a 
resinous character. They are sometimes adulterated with fixed 
oils, which may be detected by dropping them on paper, where, if 
pure, the spots will disappear when held to the fire ; if other- 
wise, they will leave a greasy stain. Alcohol is discovered by 
adding water, which, if it be present, occasions a milkiness, and 
a slight increase of temperature. 

These oils are stimulating, heating, diaphoretic and carmina- 
tive. They are given in emulsion, or dropped on sugar. 

Oleum Anisi. Oil of Anise. — Colour whitish ; taste mode- 
rately pungent, bitter-sweet; congeals at 50°. It is one of the 
mildest volatile oils. Given in flatulent pains, &c. .Dose, from 
five to fifteen minims. 

Oleum Chenopodh. Oil of Wormseed.— Pungent, heating ; 
said to be anthelmintic. Dose, about six minims. 

Oleum Cunil^:. Oil of Pennyroyal. — Very acrid and heat- 
ing. Dose, from one to four minims. 



268 OLEA DISTILLATA. 

Oleum Funiculi. Oil of Fennel.'— Colourless ; congeals at 
50° ; taste hot and sweetish. Dose, from two to twelve minims. 

Oleum GaultherijE. Oil of Partridge Berry, — Yellow- 
ish, pungent and bitter ; sinks in water. Dose, from two to six 
minims. 

Oleum Juniperi. Oil of Juniper. — Greenish-yellow; vis- 
cid ; a third lighter than water ; taste hot ; odour like that of 
turpentine. Stimulating and diuretic. Dose, from two to ten 
minims. 

Oleum Lavandula. Oil of Lavender. — Pale yellow; light- 
er than water; pungent ; fragrant. Dose, from one to five minims. 

Oleum Mentha Piperita. Oil of Peppermint. — Colour 
brownish-yellow, which it loses when exposed to light; very 
strong and pungent. Dose, one or two minims. 

Oleum Menthje Viridis. Oil of Spearmint. — Greenish ; 
lighter than water ; acrid. Dose, from two to four minims. 

Oleum Monard^e. Oil of Monarda. — Reddish-amber col- 
oured ; highly acrid ; rubefacient and epispastic. Dose, one 
or two minims. 

Oleum Origani. Oil of Origanum.— -Yellow ; lighter than 
water ; intensely acrid ; chiefly used as a local application to ca- 
rious teeth. 

Oleum Pimento. Oil of Pimento. — Reddish-brown ; heavier 
than water ; aromatic and pungent. Dose, from three to five 
minims. 

Oleum Rorismarini. Oil of Rosemary.'- -Colourless ; less 
agreeable than the plant. Not much used internally, but enters 
into the composition of liniments. 



0LIV2E OLEUM. 059 

Oleum Sassafras. Oil of Sassafras. Yellow; viscid; 
heavier than water. Dose, from two to six minims. 

Oleum Succini. Oil of Jlmber.— The oil obtained by the 
first distillation is thick, dark coloured and fetid. By repeated 
distillation it becomes thinner. The taste is hot, acrid and un- 
pleasant. It is but partially soluble in alcohol. It is sometimes 
given in hysteria and convulsive disorders, in the dose of five or 
six drops, but it is oftenei* used as an external stimulant in 
rheumatism, &c. 

Oleum Succini Oxidatum. Oxidated Oil of Jlmber. — 
This article, from the peculiar odour it exhales, has been denomi- 
nated artificial musk. It was introduced as an antispasmodic 
in hooping cough, but has not obtained a durable reputation. 
Dose, five or six minims. 



OLIV^ffl OLEUM. 
Olive Oil. 

Origin. The olive tree is a native of the south of Europe, 
and all the countries bordering upon the Mediterranean, and 
might be cultivated with great advantage in the southern parts of 
the United States.* The fruit abounds with fixed oil, which is 
obtained from it by bruising and pressure so regulated as not to 
break the kernals of the olives. Different degrees of pressure 
produce oil of different qualities. A sediment of albuminous 
matter is deposited by rest, from which the oil requires to be 
poured off. 

Qualities. Pure olive oil is somewhat viscid, inodorous, in- 
sipid, and of a pale, greenish-yellow colour, highly inflammable, 

* See a full account of the olive tree by Mr. Hillhouse, in Michaux's 
North American Sylva. 
35 



270 OPIUM. 

insoluble in water, and nearly so in alcohol. It congeals at 38° 
Fahrenheit, and boils at about 600°, By age and exposure, it 
becomes rancid, sebacic acid and water being formed, and the 
colour and taste greatly changed. 

Adulteration. Olive oil is often adulterated with poppy 
oil and that of other seeds. According to Mr. Brande, this fraud 
may be detected by the action of nitrate of mercury. For this 
purpose six parts of mercury are dissolved, without heat, in seven 
and a half parts of nitric acid, specific gravity 1 .36. This solution, 
shaken with olive oil, becomes solid in a few hours ; but, if 
sophisticated with oil of seeds, it does not solidify it. 

Uses. In small quantities this oil is nutritious, and has been 
used with food from time immemorial. By its demulcent power, 
it allays irritation in catarrh, dysentery and strangury. Given 
in larger doses than the stomach can digest, it proves cathartic, 
like the other fixed oils. In cases of poisoning from mineral 
substances, oil is given freely to sheathe the coats of the alimen- 
tary canal, and to hasten the expulsion of the poison. In coun- 
tries visited by the plague, this oil is often used externally by the 
inhabitants as a supposed preventive for the contagion. The 
pharmaceutic application of this substance may be seen under 
the heads of Cerates, Ointments, Plasters, &c. 

Exhibition. As a demulcent, one or two fluidrachms may be 
given alone, or with mucilage or sugar ; as a laxative, from one 
to two fluidounces. In cases of poison, it may be given ad 
libitum. 



OPIUM. 

Opium, 

Origin. This very important drug, which, on account of its 
anodyne and soporific properties, has been celebrated from time 
immemorial, is the concrete and inspissated juice of a species of 
poppy, the Papaver somniferum of Linnseus. It is procured by 
evaporating the milky fluid, which exudes when this poppy is 



OPIUM. 271 

wounded. This juice will issue from any part of the plant, but 
the capsule and peduncle afford it most abundantly. The poppy 
comes to its greatest perfection in warm climates ; and nearly all 
the opium of commerce is at present imported from the Levant 
and from India. Climate, however, affects rather the strength 
of the drug than the size of the plant ; and the report of Chardin, 
so frequently copied, that poppies in Asia grow to the height of 
forty feet, is unquestionably a gross exaggeration. 

Qualities. Turkey opium is brought to us in flattish cakes, 
covered with leaves, among which are frequently small capsules 
of a species of rumex. It has a peculiar, heavy, strong odour, and 
a bitter taste, attended with some acrimony when long chewed. 
The internal colour is reddish-brown. The cakes, when mode- 
rately warm, are soft and compressible, but by age and exposure 
the opium becomes brittle, and capable of being reduced to a yel- 
lowish powder. It takes fire easily, and burns with a bright 
flame. Water, alcohol, ether and acids dissolve portions of it; 
but it commonly contains about one quarter part of insoluble 
impurities. Exposure to a heat equal to that of boiling water 
impairs its narcotic properties, yet distillation does not separate 
its active ingredients. 

India opium is in round masses, covered with a thick coating 
of fragments of leaves. Its sensible qualities resemble those of 
Turkey opium, except that it is somewhat more bitter and less 
pungent, having a slightly empyreumatic smell. The colour 
is somewhat darker, and the texture less tenacious. Its watery 
solution has a deeper colour. It may be completely suspended 
by trituration in water, whereas Turkey opium leaves a plastic 
mass similar to vegetable gluten. India opium, in its medicinal 
effects, is weaker than that of Turkey. 

The purest opium is that which the Asiatics call opium in 
tears, and which is the pure, concrete juice of the poppy. But 
much of the opium of commerce is said to be increased in bulk 
by the addition of an aqueous extract of the plant procured by 
evaporating a decoction. The fibrous impurities usually found 
in opium probably result from the slovenly manner in which it is 
collected by the Asiatics. Sometimes, however, they result from 



272 OPIUM. 

fraudulent and intentional adulterations, various inert substances 
being mixed with opium, and among the rest dried cow dung, for 
the sake of increasing its amount. The opium of Bengal is an- 
nually inspected by order of the government, and large quantities 
are condemned to be burnt as unfit for exportation. Opium 
which abounds with impurities, which is of a blackish colour, or 
has a very strong empyreumatic smell, is to be considered of infe- 
rior quality. 

Many chemical analyses of opium have been made by different 
experimenters. Among the latest are those of Derosne, Ser- 
tuerner and Robiquet. From these it may be inferred, that 
opium contains extractive matter, mucilage, foecula, resin, fixed 
oil, caoutchouc, a vegeto-animal substance, an acid called meconic, 
an alkali called morphia, and a separate crystalline substance 
called narcotine. The three last are supposed peculiar to opium. 

Meconic acid, so named by its discoverer, M. Sertuerner, from 
pww, the Greek name for poppy, is, in its pure^tate, a colour- 
less solid, crystallizing in long needles, volatile and soluble in 
water and alcohol. It produces an intensely red colour in salts 
of iron, oxidized to their maximum. Neither this acid, nor the 
salts which it forms with potass, soda or lime, have much medici- 
nal action on the human system. 

Morphia, called by the French morphine, was also discovered 
by Sertuerner, though perhaps previously seen by Derosne and 
Seguin. It is a crystalline, transparent substance, sparingly solu- 
ble in water, but readily soluble in alcohol, ether and oils, to which 
it communicates a bitter taste. It has all the characters of an 
alkali, affecting test papers, forming neutral salts with acids, and 
decomposing metallic salts. It fuses at a moderate temperature, 
and crystallizes in cooling. 

Morphia exists in opium in combination with the meconic 
acid, forming a meconate of morphia. Various processes have 
been recommended for obtaining it by Sertuerner, Robiquet, 
Choulant and Thomson. According to Mr. Brande, it may be 
procured from powdered opium by triturating it into a paste with 
dilute acetic acid, pouring caustic ammonia into the filtered so- 
lution, and evaporating. During the evaporation, a brownish sub- 



' OPIUM. 273 

stance separates, which, by digestion in a small quantity of cold 
alcohol, becomes nearly colourless, and is pure morphia. 

Authors are not agreed as to the precise degree of medicinal 
activity in morphia. Opium, when deprived of it, is rendered in- 
active, according to some experimenters, but not so according to 
others. From the general experiments which have been made, 
we are authorized to infer, that it is a powerful narcotic, but 
much more powerful when in combination with an acid, or dis- 
solved in oil or alcohol, than when taken alone in a solid state. 
The dose of this substance, when pure, is at present very unde- 
cided, some authors giving fractions of a grain, and others giving 
twelve grains with impunity. Whether its variable activity 
is caused wholly by the solvent it meets with in the stomach, or 
whether it is owing to the different modes of preparation, is a 
question which future trials may settle. At present we may ven- 
ture to predict, that it probably will not supersede crude opium in 
medical practice, even though some of its more elaborate combi- 
nations may exceed that drug in power. 

The third principle peculiar to opium is an azotized substance, 
crystallizing in beautiful pearly prisms or tables, soluble in fixed 
oils and still more so in ether and the acids, insoluble in water 
and sparingly soluble in alcohol, incapable of changing vegetable 
colours and of neutralizing acids. It is called narcotine. This 
substance was discovered by Derosne before the discovery of mor- 
phia. It has since been supposed to be a salt of morphia, but is 
now acknowledged as a distinct principle of opium. Its effects 
are nauseating and stupifying, and eight or twelve grains in solution 
have proved fatal to dogs. Morphia, deprived of narcotine, is ima- 
gined to be less intoxicating and more simply soporific. Under 
this impression, M. Robiquet has furnished a process for obtaining 
an extract of opium without narcotine. It consists in washing 
and macerating the watery extract with portions of sulphuric ether, 
as long as the ether deposits crystals of narcotine on evaporation. 
Experiments are still wanting to decide how far improvements are 
practicable in the pharmaceutical treatment of opium. 

Medicinal Effects. Opium, administered in a moderate dose 
to a man in health, produces, within a short time, generally from 



274 OPIUM. 

five to twenty minutes, a marked effect on the brain and nervous 
system. There ensues from it usually an increase of what are 
termed the animal spirits ; or a tranquil confidence and serenity 
of mind. This is afterwards followed by tendency to sleep. The 
sensibility of the system is diminished, and the body becomes less 
susceptible of annoyance, pain or disturbance from external causes. 
Irritability is also lessened in the various organs and textures, so 
that their functions are manifestly retarded. The secretions 
and excretions are carried on more sparingly, excepting perhaps 
the excretion from the pores of the skin, which opium rather pro- 
motes than diminishes. All the chylopoietic viscera are slower 
in the performance of their functions, appetite is rendered less 
keen and digestion slower, the peristaltic motion is lessened, and 
costiveness ensues. The urine is diminished, and the mucus of 
the throat and fauces rendered thick and more sparing. The 
effect of opium on the circulating system has been the subject of 
much dispute, and the reports of different observers do not agree 
as to its primary operation. But whether its first effect be to 
quicken the pulse or otherwise, it is agreed, that after a certain 
time the pulse becomes invariably slower than before. 

The immediate effects of opium ordinarily pass off in from 
twelve to twenty-four hours, leaving, if the dose has been con- 
siderable, a sense of dullness, heat and thirst, a costive state of 
body, and frequently head-ache, hoarseness, and an itching of the 
skin. But if large quantities have been taken, a train of alarm- 
ing symptoms supervene, somewhat like those which follow poi- 
soning from other narcotics. These are vertigo, confusion of 
mind and difficulty of attention, gradual loss of eyesight, pale- 
ness, great muscular relaxation, difficulty of speech and of 
deglutition, great somnolency, and more rarely delirium and 
convulsions. These afterwards pass into a profound apoplectic 
stupor, accompanied usually with stertorous breathing, and a 
full, hard, slow pulse ; which state continues till death. If, how- 
ever, the dose has not been excessive, or the patient is aided by 
prompt evacuations and other means, recovery in most cases 
takes place rapidly, and no permanent injury remains to the 
constitution. 



OPIUM. 275 

Exceptions. All persons are not equally susceptible of the 
influence of opium, nor the same persons in &11 situations. The 
robust bear more than the weak and delicate, and the expe- 
rienced more than the unaccustomed. Habitual use renders the 
system unsusceptible of the original effect of opium, so that peo- 
ple under painful chronic diseases, who have long taken opium 
as a palliative, find it necessary, in many instances, to increase by- 
degrees to ten or twenty times the quantity, which at first af- 
forded them relief, before the same benefit can be certainly ob- 
tained. Persons intemperate in opium consume enormous 
quantities of the drug with impunity, at least as to its present 
effects. The opium eaters of Asia drag out a miserable existence 
under the daily employment of doses, a small part of which 
would originally have proved fatal to them. 

Bodily pain powerfully counteracts the narcotic operation of 
opium. A patient suffering violent cramp or colic may go on 
repeating large doses, until he has taken an amount which, under 
other circumstances, would have been dangerous ; and in the end, 
after ease is obtained, experience no more soporific effect than 
he would have derived, when at ease, from a tenth part of the 
amount. Prodigious quantities are sometimes lavished in cases 
of hydrophobia and tetanus, with very little effect on the sensi- 
bility or irritability of the patient. 

Use in common doses. Opium, exhibited in such quantities 
as would not cause inconvenience to an ordinary person in 
health, has been applied to the treatment of numerous diseases 
and symptoms. Generally, it is resorted to, under proper cir- 
cumstances, for the relief of spasm and pain, of watchfulness and 
nervous irritability, and of inordinate evacuations. In fevers of 
the simple, continued kind, it is only useful in the advanced 
stages, under symptoms of prostration, such as low delirium, 
subsultus tendinum, watchfulness and diarrhoea; all which it is 
eminently calculated to relieve, forming an important adjunct to 
wine and other parts of a cordial regimen. In intermittent 
fevers it is also useful given an hour before the expected paroxysm. 
In fevers attended with local inflammation, opium is commonly not 



276 OPIUM. 

beneficial, out on tSie contrary injurious, if administered before 
the violence of the disease is reduced by other remedies. After 
this has been done, it proves serviceable as a palliative in pneu- 
monia, rheumatism and some other inflammatory diseases. 
"W hen intended as a sudorific in these cases, its combinations 
with emetic substances are peculiarly useful, as in the Powder of 
ipecacuanha and opium. Dysentery, after the bowels have been 
freely and thoroughly evacuated, is remarkably benefited by 
combinations of this sort. 

In hemorrhages, where much arterial excitement does not exist, 
or has been reduced by depletion ; opiates, either alone or in 
combination with nauseating and astringent medicines, are par- 
ticularly beneficial. Those of the lungs and uterus are in a 
special manner appropriate subjects for this treatment. Opium 
is our principal remedy in the disease of cholera, in which it pro- 
bably acts by lessening the secretion of bile, and diminishing the 
irritability of the stomach ,and bowels. It is true, that where we 
suppose the disease to depend on the presence of acrid ingesta, 
these must be removed by proper evacuants, before opium is 
administered. But, in violent cases of cholera, it generally 
happens, that the excessive flow of bile completely evacuates the 
alimentary canal before the patient is seen by the physician, so 
that no time need be lost before commencing the exhibition of 
opium. In violent cases, large doses are sometimes necessary. 
The tendency of this drug to retard the alvine discharges, renders 
it a proper medicine in diarrhoea, provided no irritating substances 
requiring evacuation remain in the bowels. For the same reason 
it is found, even in minute doses, an important adjunct to mercu- 
rials, antimonials, bark, &c. when these medicines pass off too 
rapidly from the bowels. Emetics are retarded or frustrated by 
opium, and the occurrence of excessive vomiting is more fre- 
quently relieved or prevented by this, than by any other 
medicine. 

As a palliative, opium is much resorted to for temporary relief 
in the pains of chronic syphilis, of schirrus, cancer and other 
distressing and obstinate maladies. The paroxysms of strangury 



OPIUM. 277 

and nephritis are particularly relieved by it, especially when it 
is thrown into the rectum. The after-pains, which follow partu- 
rition, if excessive in violence, require opium for their suspension. 
Use in large doses. The cases above described are gene- 
rally within the reach of such doses of opium as would not be 
followed by serious inconvenience, if taken by a person in health. 
But there are cases of disease, particularly of a spasmodic kind, 
which are not under the influence of such doses. In these, much 
larger quantities may be taken, such as it would be imprudent to 
give to a healthy man ; and these doses may be repeated at fre- 
quent intervals, until the spasm and pain are conquered, without 
the eventual production of any injury to the patient. The dis- 
ease in these cases counteracts the narcotic effect of opium, until 
relief is obtained ; after which the patient becomes susceptible, as 
before, of the influence of the medicine. The spasmodic affec- 
tions of the alimentary canal, known in the form of colic and 
cramp of the stomach, when they occur in their more violent 
shapes, are proper subjects for this treatment. In these cases, it 
is often necessary to begin with a hundred drops, or even more, 
of laudanum, and to repeat this quantity at intervals of twenty or 
thirty minutes, until five or six hundred drops have been given, if 
the pain does not sooner begin to be relieved. The safety of this 
practice is established by abundant experience in this city and 
state. I have repeatedly observed that patients with the above 
complaints, after taking six hundred drops in this manner, do 
not sleep longer than if, at another time, they had taken fifty. It 
is not uncommon for them to wake spontaneously in two hours 
from the time of falling asleep. After relief is thus obtained, no 
time should be lost in emptying the bowels with cathartics ; and 
for this purpose a strong infusion of senna, aided by injections, is 
peculiarly proper. It is not to be understood, that the foregoing 
treatment is requisite in all cases of gastrodynia and colic. 
Where the pain is moderate, and can be supported without 
hazard until cathartics can be made to operate, these are the 
appropriate remedies. But in cases of violence and danger, the 
pain and, spasm should at all events be conquered by the prompt 
and liberal use of opium ; after which, notwithstanding the con- 



278 OPIUJVL 

stipating effect of this drug, cathartics will operate more easily 
than they would have done at the commencement of the disease. 
Bloodletting, in cases of violent pain, prepares the system for the 
more favorable reception of opium. 

The painful spasms of hydrophobia and tetanus seem to pre- 
vent, and almost set at defiance, the narcotic influence of opium. 
Nothing short of the most powerful doses can produce the least 
impression on these terrific diseases. We are told of cases of 
tetanus, in which opium has been given at the rate of more than a 
hundred grains in a day, without injury to the patient.* It 
would be useless to cite the instances of such incredible doses, did 
it not serve to shew, that in proportion to the violence of spasm 
may be the magnitude of the dose of opium ; and that so long as 
spasm remains unsubdued, no injurious consequence is usually to 
be feared from the medicine. Much discretion, however, is 
necessary, on the part of the practitioner, in estimating the vio- 
lence and probable tendency of a spasmodic disease, before he 
ventures upon such doses as would of themselves be hazardous 
under different circumstances. 

There are cases of watchfulness, which are not under the con- 
trol of opium, except it be given to a large amount. This is ex- 
emplified in the delirium tremens of drunkards, a disease in 
which opium is highly beneficial, but only so when very freely 
administered, and repeated every hour or two, until sleep is pro- 
cured. 

Contraindications. Although opium is the most effectual 
palliative we possess in many cases of spasm and of chronic dis- 
ease, it is not so in febrile diseases accompanying violent, acute, 
and deep-seated inflammation. When the brain, lungs, liver, or 
other important viscera are subjects of this inflammation, opium 
is strongly contraindicated, and, if given, affords no relief; but, 
on the contrary, rarely fails to aggravate both the pain and the 



* Dr. Fisher, now president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, 
gave about eleven drachms of opium in three days to a patient with 
tetanic spasm. The result was successful. See his paper in the Massa- 
chusetts Medical Communications, Vol. I. 



OPIUM. 279 

violence of the disease. A qualifying opinion has with some jus- 
tice been advanced, that inflammations of the bowels admit of 
opiates more easily than those of other parts. In these cases, after 
copious bloodletting, it appears to be immediately useful in quieting 
inordinate peristaltic motion, and thus affording aid to the other 
means of cure. As a general rule, inflammations of passages bear 
opium better than those of circumscribed cavities ; or those of mu- 
cous membranes better than those of serous or cellular textures. 
Inflammations of the latter kind become susceptible of benefit 
from it only in their secondary stages, after depletion has been 
carried to an extent which renders it no longer admissible.— In the 
early stages of simple fever, opium almost always does harm. It 
can rarely be given with prudence in any case of strong arterial 
excitement, and is equally improper when there exists a particu- 
lar determination to the head. — Mania, in most of its forms, de- 
rives no benefit from opium. 

Exhibition. A grain of solid opium is an ordinary dose, to 
be varied according to circumstances. If opium in powder be 
made into pills with resinous substances, it will be more gradual 
in its operation; if with mucilage or syrup, it will be more 
speedy. When a very prompt effect is required, laudanum is 
preferable to undissolved opium. An aqueous solution is said to 
be followed by less inconvenience than a tincture, but it is 
more difficult to regulate its strength. If the stomach readily 
rejects opium, it may be thrown into the rectum as an enema. 
In this case, double the quantity should be employed. Opiate 
injections are also indicated when the rectum itself, or parts in 
its neighborhood, are the seat of the complaint, as in dysentery 
and strangury. Externally applied to the cuticle, opium lias 
very little effect. For further remarks, see Jcetum opii, Tinc- 
titra opii, Tinct. camphor as opiata, Pidvis ipecac, et opii. 

Antidotes. To persons poisoned by large quantities of opi- 
um, a powerful emetic of sulphate of zinc or sulphate of copper 
should immediately be given, the amount being proportioned to 
the emergency of the case, and repeated at short intervals till 
vomiting is produced. Vegetable acids should be administered, 
such as vinegar and lemon juice, subject, however, to this can- 



280 PETROSELINUM.— PHOSPHORUS. 

tion, that if opium still remains in the stomach, their use should 
be delayed until this is discharged, as they would otherwise 
accelerate its solution and activity. Strong coffee and tea may 
be freely administered ; also cordial stimulants, which are not 
of the narcotic kind, as ammonia, musk and the aromatics. The 
patient should be kept erect and moved frequently, and the skin 
excited with friction, rubefacients or blisters. Bloodletting is 
proper if the comatose tendency be strong. If the patient ap- 
pears to be in a dying state, an attempt may be made to keep up 
the pulse by artificial respiration, as recommended by Mr. Brodie, 
until the narcotic influence upon the brain has past. 



ORIGANUM. 

Wild Marjoram. 

This plant is a hot, pungent aromatic, growing wild on dry 
soils in England and other parts of Europe. The powder has 
been sometimes taken as a stomachic and emmenagogue, but the 
article is made officinal chiefly on account of its volatile oil. 



PETROSELINUM, 

Parsley, 

Common garden parsley is said to be diuretic ; but its proper- 
ties are, at best, of a secondary kind. 



PHOSPHORUS. 

Phosphorus. 

Origin Phosphoric acid, of which this substance is the base, 
exists in various combinations in the mineral, vegetable and ani- 



PHOSPHORUS. 281 

mal kingdoms. It is commonly obtained, on account of the 
cheapness of the material, from the calcined bones of animals, 
which consist chiefly of phosphate of lime. By a peculiar pro- 
cess, the lime is separated by means of sulphuric acid, leaving 
phosphoric acid, from which the oxygen is afterwards abstracted 
by hot charcoal. 

Qualities. Phosphorus is of a pale-reddish colour, and se- 
mi-transparent, but, when perfectly pure, it is nearly colourless. 
It is waxy and flexible, but brittle at low temperatures. It melts 
at 105°, and boils at 550°, air being excluded. Exposed to the 
air, it emits luminous fumes of an offensive odour, takes fire at 
about 148°, and burns with an intense, brilliant flame, throwing 
out copious white vapours of phosphoric acid. It is usually kept, 
for security, under water. 

Uses. According to the report of various French and Ger- 
man physicians, this substance, in small doses, acts as a powerful 
and diffusible stimulant, increasing the frequency of the pulse 
and heat of the body, augmenting muscular power, and particular- 
ly stimulating the urinary and generative organs. In larger 
doses it is a corrosive poison, inflaming the alimentary canal, and 
occasioning death, apparently, by the production of phosphoric 
acid. It has been given as a medicine in the low stages of fever, 
and some other diseases attended by debility or spasm, with al- 
leged benefit. It also promises some advantage in dropsy; but 
its use is difficult, and requires great caution. 

Exhibition. As the activity of phosphorus is influenced by 
the facility with which it obtains oxygen from the contents of the 
alimentary canal, it is not easy to fix upon the greatest safe dose. 
A grain is the quantity indicated by Hufeland and Lobstein ; 
and though larger doses have been given with impunity, yet 
smaller ones have sometimes done harm. Even a quarter of a 
grain has not always been harmless. Solutions of phosphorus in 
oil and in ether are more active than the medicine in substance. 
Poisoning from phosphorus is to be treated with emetics, solu- 
tions of magnesia, lime or alkalies, and a subsequent antiphlogis* 
tic regimen. 



282 PHYTOLACCA. 

PHYTOLACCA. 

Poke. 

Origin. The Phytolacca decandra is a native of all parts of 
the United States, as well as of the south of Europe and north of 
Africa. It is sometimes known in this country by the names of 
cocum, garget, and pigeon berries. The root is dug for medical 
use late in autumn, after the stalks are dead. 

Qualities. This plant has a large root, frequently exceeding 
a man's leg in thickness. When dried, this root is light and 
spongy, with a mild and somewhat sweetish taste. Both water 
and alcohol extract from it a soluble portion, which seems to be 
a variety of extractive matter. 

Uses. Phytolacca is a certain emetic and cathartic, attended 
sometimes in its operation with narcotic symptoms. It differs 
from the other emetics in common use by both the slowness and 
length of its operation. An operative dose is frequently an 
hour, and sometimes two, before it begins to produce vomiting ; 
but after this operation has commenced, it not unfrequently goes 
on with great obstinacy for many hours. Patients are not all 
similarly affected by it. On some it operates promptly and with 
mildness ; in others it occasions distressing nausea, vertigo and 
temporary insensibility of the retina. Large doses are apt to 
occasion hypercatharsis. Phytolacca is administered with ad- 
vantage in rheumatism, in such doses as do not produce a great 
effect on the stomach. It quickens the action of other cathartic 
medicines, when combined with them in small quantities. Ex- 
ternally, in the form of decoction or ointment, it produces a 
sense of burning on the skin, and is found efficacious in psora 
and some other cutaneous affections. 

Exhibition. Ten grains ordinarily produce vomiting, in 
from one to two hours, and care should be taken not to accu- 
mulate the medicine in the stomach by too early repetition. 
Three or four grains, combined with aloes or jalap, form an active 



PILULiE. 283 

and easy purge. The powder is generally more certain and less 
troublesome than any liquid preparations. 

Phytolacca Bacca. Poke Berries. — The green berries of 
Phytolacca decandra possess, in a considerable degree, the quali- 
ties of the root. The ripe berries are less active, and, according 
to Decandolle, are used in some parts of France to feed poultry. 
They however partake of the character of the plant, and a tinc- 
ture prepared from them has acquired considerable reputation in 
rheumatism. 



PILULES. 

Pills. 

Pills are composed of medicines in substance formed into 
Tound masses of such size, that they can conveniently be swal- 
lowed whole. The pill is a suitable form of exhibition for those 
medicines which act in small doses, which are insoluble in com- 
mon menstrua, or which, by particular combinations, can be 
rendered more quickly, or more slowly soluble, at pleasure. 
Thus opium, calomel, aloes and gamboge are advantageously used 
in the form of pills. On the other hand, this form is improper 
for those articles, which operate only in large bulk, as senna ; 
those which deliquesce, as subcarbonate of potass ; or those which 
are of too fluid a consistence, as balsams, &c. 

Some substances can be made into pills without any addition ; 
but generally the constituents of pills are in the state of dry 
powders, and require the presence of some tenacious or fluid 
medium to unite them. The nature of this medium must vary 
according to the solubility and adhesiveness of the medicinal 
substance. Thus aloes, being soluble and adhesive, requires only 
to be a little moistened with water ; submuriate of mercury, which 
is neither soluble nor adhesive, requires a very viscid and tena- 
cious liquid ; while tartarized antimony, which is soluble but not 
adhesive, requires a kind of soft solid to hold it together. Syrups, 



284 PILULiE. 

mucilages and Castile soap are commonly employed as the unit- 
ing medium for pills. To regulate the consistency of pills, and to 
keep them separate, some dry powder is usually employed, such 
as magnesia, arrow root, or powder of liquorice root. Magnesia, 
however, and likewise soap, occasion some decomposition in cer- 
tain metallic salts, and have therefore been rejected by those who 
are very nice in their prescriptions, when such salts are used. 

Pilule Aloeticje. Moetic Pills. — -The compound of soap 
and aloes is more soluble than aloes alone, and its purgative pow- 
ers are mote mild. Hence the aloetic pill offers a useful mode 
of exhibiting the drug, when it is desired to avoid irritation of the 
rectum. The dose is about a scruple. 

Pilule Aloes et Colocynthidis. Pills of Aloes and 
Colocynth. — Under the name of Pilulce coccice, or cochice, this 
compound has been in use ever since the time of Rhazes. It is 
an active and useful purgative in the dose of ten grains, to which 
a portion of calomel is frequently added. 

Pilule Aloes et Myrrhs. Pills of Moes and Myrrh.-— 
This is, also, a combination of Rhazes, and is ordinarily known 
under the name of Pilulce Piifi. It is a popular remedy in ner- 
vous head-ache, amenorrhea, &c. Dose, about a scruple. 

Pilule Aloes cum Myrrha et Guaiaco. Pills of Moes, 
Myrrh and Guaiacum. — This is a stimulating purgative, in doses 
of from one to two scruples. It must be observed, that the oxide 
of antimony here used, is the article described on page 73 of this 
work. 

Pilule Antimoniales Composite. Compound Jlntimonial 
Pills. — Each of these pills contains two grains of submuriate of 
mercury, one of opium, and one third of a grain of tartarized an- 
timony. This combination is powerfully alterative and diapho- 
retic in rheumatism, catarrh, and various other inflammatory 



PILULE. 285 

affections. One pill may be taken at night ; or half a pill may be 
repeated two or three times during the day. 

Pilule Arsenici. Pills of Arsenic. — One of these pills 
contains a sixteenth part of a grain of arsenious acid, modified by 
the soap. Arsenic, however, ought not to be given in substance, 
on account of the difficulty of equalizing its subdivision, or its 
action on the stomach. 

Pilule Assafcetid.e. Jlssafetida Pills. — The soap promotes 
the solubility of assafetida in the stomach. Dose, from ten to 
twenty grains. 

Pilule Assafcetid^ composite. Compound Jissafetida 
Pills. — These pills are cathartic and anodyne in a dose of twen- 
ty or thirty grains. 

Pilule Auri Muriatis. Tills of Muriate of Gold. — One 
of these pills contains a fifteenth part of a grain of muriate of 
gold, and is given for a dose. The chance of equal subdivision 
will be greater, if only a tenth part of the whole quantity is made 
up at a time. 

Pilule Colocynthidis Extracti compositi. Pills of 
Compound Extract of Colocynth. — This active combination, 
commonly known by the name of FothergiWs pills, is given as a 
cathartic in the dose of two or three pills. For the oxide of an- 
timony, which enters into this compound, see page 73 of this 
work, or the list of Corrigenda. 

PiLULiE Ferri Sulphatis. Pills of Sulphate of Iron. — To- 
nic and astringent. Dose, one pill, containing two grains of the 
sulphate. 

Pilulje Ferri Sulphatis composite. Compound Pills of 
Sulphate of Iron, — These pills are laxative, toniG and astringent. 



286 PILULE. 

The sulphate of iron is, no doubt, partly converted into an oxide 
by the soda of the soap. Dose, from one to three pills. 

Pilule Gambogle et Scammonii. Pills of Gamboge and 
Scammony. — A compound somewhat resembling these has be- 
come a popular medicine in the United States. From two to 
four pills produce an effectual operation. 

Pilule Hydrargyri. Mercurial Pills, Blue Pills. — The 
common blue pill is made of crude mercury extinguished, or 
reduced to the state of protoxide by long trituration with some 
viscid substance, a dry powder being afterwards added to give it 
consistence. Various saccharine, mucilaginous and oily substances 
have been used to extinguish the mercury, but the conserve of roses 
is now generally adopted by the pharmacopceias, and answers 
the purpose very well. Care must be taken to see that it is not 
adulterated with sulphuric acid, which is sometimes done to 
heighten its colour. When the mercury is so far reduced, that no 
globules appear on rubbing small portions of it on paper, the 
liquorice is added, and the whole made immediately into pills, be- 
fore it becomes hard. The Edinburgh College employs starch, 
instead of liquorice ; but pills made by their formula are apt to 
crumble. One grain of mercury is contained in four of the 
Edinburgh blue pill, in three of the London, and in two and a 
half of the American. These pills are much employed to pro- 
duce a mercurial influence on the system, and sometimes to act 
as laxatives. For both these purposes they are much less effect- 
ual than calomel, and are chiefly deserving of use in mild cases, 
or in irritable subjects, who are purged or otherwise incommoded 
by the submuriate. When made according to the American 
formula, each pill contains a grain of mercury, and half a dozen, 
or more, may be taken in a day. 

Pilulje Hydrargyri Oxymuriatis. Pills of Oocymuriate 
of Mercury. — The muriate of ammonia facilitates the solution 
of the corrosive sublimate in the stomach. The form of pill, how- 
ever, is objectionable for so powerful a substance, since it is diffi- 



PILULiE. 287 

cult to make the subdivision exact, and the pill is liable to occa- 
sion distress by concentrating its action upon a limited portion 
of the stomach. A commencing dose of these pills may be half 
a grain. 

Pilule Hydrargyri Submuriatis. Pills of Submuriate of 
Mercury. — Each of these pills contains a grain of submuriate. 
It is probable that the calomel is partially, though not wholly, 
changed into protoxide of mercury by the alkali of the soap, so 
that the pill will be rendered milder than pure calomel, while it is 
more active than the blue pill. Dose, one or two pills, as an 
alterative or sialagogue. The full activity of calomel will be in- 
sured, if it is made into pills with syrup, and rolled in flour or 
arrow root. 

Pilule Jalapje composite. Compound Pills of Jalap. — 
This compound is an active cathartic, but would probably be 
more so without the soap. Dose, from two to four pills. 

Pilule Myrrhs et Ferri. Pills of Myrrh and Iron. — 
Dose, two or three pills. For the properties, see Iron, and 
Myrrh. 

Pilule Opii. Pills of Opium. — These pills are more quickly 
soluble in the stomach than when made of moist opium. Dose, 
a grain. 

Pilule Picis. Tar Pills. — These may be taken in dropsy, 
rheumatism and cutaneous diseases, to the extent of a hundred 
or more in a day. 

Pilule Rhei composite. Compound Pills of Rhubarb. — 
This mass is a warm laxative, in the dose of a scruple. It is said 
to become less active by keeping. 

Pilulje Scill^. Pills of Squill. — The squill is most effect- 
ual when given in substance, and most convenient in pills. Dose, 
one pill, as an expectorant or diuretic. 



288 PIMENTA.— PIPER. 

Pilule Sobm Subcarbonatis. Pills of Subcarbonate of 
Soda.—-I)ose, as an antacid, about a scruple. 



PIMENTA. 

Pimento. 

Pimento, or allspice, is the dried berry o£ a species of myrtle 
growing in the West Indies and South America. It contains 
resin, extractive, tannin and gallic acid ; also a volatile oil, on 
which its most active properties depend. Pimento is a warm, 
aromatic stimulant and tonic, and is sometimes administered 
with a view to these effects. It is also employed to qualify the 
taste of disagreeable medicines ; but its principal use is as a culi- 
nary spice or condiment. 



PIPER, 

Black Pepper. 

Common black pepper is the produce of a climbing plant, cul- 
tivated in Sumatra, Java and some other parts of the East Indies. 
The plants begin to bear when three years old, and continue 
bearing for eight years. The fruit is a small, drupe, or one-seeded 
berry, which, when dried, forms the pepper of commerce. 

Qualities. Black pepper has a strong, not unpleasant odour, 
and a well-known, pungent, biting taste. Its virtues are extract- 
ed by alcohol and ether, and partly by water. It contains, ac- 
cording to Pelletier, the following ingredients: 1. — Piperin. 
2. — A very acrid, concrete oil. 3. — A volatile, balsamic oil. 4.-^- 
A gummy coloured matter. 5. — An extractive principle. 6. — 
Malic and tartaric acids. 7. — Starch. 8. — Bassorine. 9. — Lig- 
nin. 10.— Earthy and alkaline salts. Piperin is a peculiar, 



PIX ABIETIS.— PIX LIQUIDA. 289 

crystalline, colourless substance, with scarcely any taste, very 
soluble in alcohol, less so in ether, and insoluble in cold water. 
It melts at 212°. Strong sulphuric acid gives it a blood-red 
colour. The pungent taste of pepper resides in the concrete oil. 

Uses. Great quantities are consumed in all parts of the civi- 
lized world as a condiment with food. In small quantities it aids 
digestion, but its abuse brings on a predisposition to inflammatory 
disease. Infused in spirit, or sprinkled on a poultice, it forms a 
useful rubefacient. 

Note. White pepper is the above article deprived of its 
outer coat. Long pepper is from a different species of the same 
genus, the Piper' longum. 



PIX ABIETIS. 

Burgundy Pitch. 

This article is procured from incisions made in the Norway 
spruce fir, a native of the north of Europe and Asia. It is a 
concrete turpentine, or resin containing some of its volatile oil. 
Burgundy pitch is much used as a plaster for keeping up a gen- 
tle excitement of the skin. It adheres for a long time, particu- 
larly in persons of a dry cuticle, keeping up a sense of itching, 
and in some persons producing rubefaction, and even blistering. 



PIX LIQUIDA. 

Tar. 

Tar is an impure turpentine, obtained from different species 
of pine by burning. The resinous parts of the wood are collect- 
ed in pits, and being set on fire at top, a part of the turpentine 
is consumed, while the rest is melted and flows out at the bottom. 



290 PLUMBUM. 

From this process, it acquires an empyreumatic odour, and con- 
tains charcoal and an acid, besides resin and volatile oil. Tar is 
stimulant and diuretic in doses of one or two scruples. Its con^ 
tinued use occasions strangury. Externally it is useful in porri- 
go and herpes. The vapour of tar has been recommended to be 
inhaled by phthisical patients. 



PLUMBUM. 

Lead. 

Origin. This metal is found in a great variety of minerals 
combined with sulphur, oxygen and various acids. It is usually 
procured from the common sulphuret, or Galena, by exposing 
that mineral to a strong heat, till the sulphur is driven off, and 
the lead reduced to fusion. 

Qualities. Lead has a light, blueish colour, with a bright 
lustre, which quickly becomes tarnished on exposure to the air. 
It is soft, very malleable, melts at 600°, and by heat and air is 
readily converted into an oxide. Its specific gravity is 11.4. 
Exposed to oxygen upon ignited coals, it burns with a blue 
flame, throwing off dense yellow fumes of oxide. 

Medicinal Effects. Metallic lead exerts no influence on the 
human system as such ; but, by combining with oxygen and acids 
in the alimentary canal, it may become active. Reduced to a 
soluble state, it has long been accounted a poison ; causing, under 
certain circumstances, a specific disease, called colica pictonum, 
or painters' colic ; characterized by great pain and violent re- 
traction of the abdomen, vomiting, obstinate constipation, and 
sometimes convulsive and paralytic symptoms. This disease 
does not always appear to arise from lead alone, nor do all per- 
sons contract it, who are exposed to the contact and ingestion of 
the metal. Yet the number of cases which have been published, 
and the almost universal opinion which prevails on the subject, 
leave little doubt, that habitual exposure to lead, in some of its 
forms, is the most common source from which this disease is 



PLUMBI OXIDUM SEMIVITREUM. 291 

derived. In districts where the colica pictonum has been en- 
demic, some exposure to lead has been commonly fixed on as the 
particular cause, and great terror has been excited, from consi- 
dering the variety of ways in which the metal may be unwarily 
received into the system, particularly by the use of culinary ves- 
sels glazed with lead, and of wines and acid liquors adulterated 
with it. Of late, however, less anxiety appears to have prevailed 
on this head, either from the disease being now less frequent 
than formerly, or from the observations of medical men in regard 
to the metal having become more numerous and precise. It 
would be curious to ascertain what particular forms and uses of 
lead are most productive of the painters' colic ; since we not 
only find many artizans exposed for a long period without incur- 
ring the disease, but the extensive application of the metal by 
physicians and surgeons, in the form of lotions, ointments and 
plasters, to denuded surfaces and secreting membranes ; the ex- 
hibition of sugar of lead in considerable quantities internally; 
the retaining in the body of wires or probes of lead after certain 
surgical operations, and of unextracted bullets after gun-shot 
wounds ; seem to render it probable that something peculiar, either 
in the nature of the exposure, or the constitution of the patient, 
is necessary to generate this disease. At present, it seems 
probable, that long-continued exposure to small quantities more 
frequently induces this particular malady than short exposure to 
larger quantities. White lead is the preparation, from the exter- 
nal contact of which painters most frequently appear to get the 
disease; yet Orfila found that half an ounce of this substance 
swallowed by a dog did not prove fatal, but was recovered from 
in a day, having produced only vomiting. 



PLUMBI OXIDUM SEMIVITREUM. 

Semivitrified Oxide of Lead. Called Litharge. 

Litharge is a yellow protoxide of lead, with a little carbonic 
acid, generally obtained during the process of separating silver 



292 PLUMB1 SUBCARBONAS.— PLUMB1 ACETAb. 

from that metal, by the effect of a blast of air and a red heat. It 
is in small, vitreous scales, which are inodorous, insipid and vary- 
ing from whitish to reddish-yellow. Litharge is soluble in acids, 
and combines with fixed oils, forming plasters, for which purpose 
it is extensively used in pharmacy. 



PLUMBI SUBCARBONAS. 

Sabcarbonate of Lead. Called White Lead. 

Common white lead, or ceruse, is prepared, in the large way, 
by exposing sheets of lead, rolled up, to the fumes of vinegar, for 
several months, in pots kept warm by burying them in fresh stable 
litter, the fermentation of which supplies both heat and the requi- 
site quantity of carbonic acid. By this process the surface of the 
lead becomes oxidized, and converted into a subcarbonate. This 
is separated, from time to time, by scraping the plates. 

Qualities. It is inodorous, nearly insipid, insoluble in water, 
but soluble by pure potass. It contains, according to Berzelius, 
oxide of lead 83.5, and carbonic acid 16.5. It is frequently adul- 
terated with chalk, which may be detected by dissolving some of 
it in distilled vinegar, and adding oxalic acid to the solution. If 
chalk be present, a precipitate will be formed. 

Uses. It is astringent and desiccative, and is applied to 
superficial inflammations and excoriations, by sprinkling it in a 
dry state, or by forming with it an ointment. 



PLUMBI ACETAS. 

•Acetate of Lead. Called Sugar of Lead. 

Preparation. See Pharmacopceia, p. 1 86. The sugar of lead 
of commerce is often prepared at the same time with the subcar- 
bonate, by immersing the ends of the sheets, alternately, half way 



PLUMBI ACETAS. 293 

in vinegar. A subcarbonate is formed on the upper half, which 
is changed into an acetate when they are inverted. This is after- 
wards crystallized by evaporation. 

Qualities. Acetate of lead is usually crystallized in needles 
of a silky appearance, which are flat, four-sided prisms, with 
dihedral summits. Its specific gravity is 2.345. It is soluble in 
three and a half times its weight of cold water, and in somewhat 
less of boiling water. It is also soluble in alcohol. The taste is 
sweet and astringent. According to Thenard, 100 parts consist 
of 58 oxide of lead, 26 acid, and 16 water. It appears to be a 
neutral salt, not a super-acetate ; and Dr. Paris observes, that its 
property of reddening vegetable blues is attributable to a partial 
decomposition, which takes place when the least portion of car- 
bonic acid is present in the water used to dissolve it. 

Uses. The most extensive employment of sugar of lead is as 
an external application in topical inflammations. Lotions, in- 
jections and ointments, composed with it, are applied with great 
benefit to cases of ophthalmia, gonorrhoea, hemorrhoids, cutaneous 
eruptions, excoriations, and phlegmonous swellings. Their ac- 
tion is astringent, cooling, sedative and discutient. 

Internally exhibited, sugar of lead is one of the most valuable 
and powerful astringents w r e possess. In France it has acquired 
reputation as a remedy in the night sweats of hectic fever. In 
some forms of chronic diarrhoea, and in dysentery after proper 
evacuations, it has been used with decided advantage. But its 
greatest efficacy has been manifested in cases of hemorrhage from 
the lungs, the bowels and the uterus. When the arterial excite- 
ment, which often attends hemoptysis, has been subdued by de- 
pletion with the lancet; this medicine, alone, or in combination 
with opium and ipecacuanha, proves eminently useful in arresting 
the flow of blood. In uterine and alvine hemorrhages, it is no 
less powerfully efficacious, and has received the most decided en- 
comiums from medical writers of high celebrity. As it appears, 
from the smallness of the dose frequently indicated in medical 
books, that much timidity still exists in regard to the safety of 
this practice, the following circumstances may serve to illustrate 
that point : 



294 FLUMBf ACETAS. 

Orfila injected from one to three grains of acetate of lead into 
the jugular veins of several dogs, without their being incommoded 
by it. Five grains, however, proved fatal. A drachm and a half, 
swallowed by a small dog, occasioned vomiting, but no subse- 
quent inconvenience. Three drachms and a half were fatal. 
Dr. Fouquier, in the Hopital de la Charite, at Paris, gave from 
one to fifteen grains in a day, to many consumptive patients, for 
night sweats and diarrhoea ; and in no instance, excepting a single 
case, did inconvenience arise from it. Dr. Chapman informs us, 
that he has given half a drachm in twenty-four hours, without any 
unpleasant consequence, and had known two drachms to be taken 
at once by mistake, with no other effect than purging. But it 
must be remembered, that large doses, if not speedily discharged, 
may inflame the stomach, and induce other dangerous symp- 
toms. Fortunately, the cases to which the lead is most adapted 
are those of short duration, and it is rarely necessary to give the 
medicine in large quantities, or to continue its use for a great 
length of time. 

Exhibition. From two to six grains may be given in he- 
morrhage, and repeated in from three to six hours, according to 
the urgency of the case. A grain of ipecacuanha and half a 
grain of opium may be combined with each dose. Alkalies and 
alkaline earths, and their carbonates, strong acids, alum, sul- 
phates, muriates, soaps, sulphurets, and tartarized antimony, de- 
compose the acetate of lead, and should not be administered with 
it. Solutions for external use should be made with soft water, to 
prevent decomposition. From one to two grains may be dissolv- 
ed in an ounce of water for a collyrium in ophthalmia and an in- 
jection in gonorrhoea. Over the cuticle, solutions of almost any 
strength may be employed. In the case of sore nipples, a 
moderately strong solution should be kept regularly applied, but 
carefully washed off before nursing the child. 

Antidotes. If a dangerous quantity of acetate of lead has 
been swallowed, the patient should immediately take freely a so- 
lution of sulphate of magnesia, sulphate of soda, or sulphate of 
potass. At the same time vomiting should be produced as 
speedily as possible, 



PODOPHYLLUM. 295 



PLUMBI SUB AC ETAS LIQUIDUS. 

Liquid Subacetate of Lead. Goulard's Extract. 

This solution of litharge in vinegar is transparent, yellowish, 
sweet and astringent. In practice it is a well-known astringent 
and discutient, externally applied. It is useful as a remedy in 
slight burns and other superficial inflammations. Surgical wri- 
ters of eminence recommend it in swelled testicle and in pro- 
lapsus iridis. It forms, when diluted, a useful gargle in cynanche, 
care being taken not to swallow it. Its mode of operation is the 
same with that of solutions of sugar of lead. 



PODOPHYLLUM. 

May Apple. 

Origin. The Podophyllum peltatum is an American plant, 
growing in low, shady situations, from New England to Georgia. 
The plant has only two leaves, with a flower in the fork, followed 
by a yellow, acid fruit. 

Qualities. The root is creeping and jointed, and, when dry, 
it is brittle and easily reduced to powder. Its taste is unplea- 
sant, and, when chewed for some time, becomes intensely bitter. 
"Water and alcohol extract its bitterness. It contains resin, fse- 
cula, bitter extractive, and a portion of gummy substance. 

Uses. Podophyllum is one of the most certain and efficacious 
of the cathartic vegetables, which have been examined in this 
country. It very nearly resembles jalap in its operation, but is 
somewhat slower, and continues its effect for a longer time. In 
irritable stomachs, it sometimes occasions nausea, but not more 
than other medicines of its class. In small doses it proves a 
gradual and easy laxative ; in large ones a powerful and long* 



296 POLYGALA RUBELLA.— POLYPODIUM. 

continued purge. It has been particularly recommended in 
dropsy, to which disease it seems well adapted by the large evac- 
uations it occasions. 

Exhibition. It is best given in powder. Ten grains, taken 
at night, produce a free operation in the following morning, and 
twenty grains purge with activity. If calomel be combined with 
it, it operates sooner and with less griping. 



POLYGALA RUBELLA. 

Bitter Polygala. 

This is a small, native plant, having a strong and permanent 
bitter taste, communicable to both water and alcohol. An infu- 
sion of this vegetable has been considerably used in the northern 
states, and is found in small doses to be a useful stimulant and 
tonic to the digestive organs ; and in large ones to excite diapho- 
resis, and moderately to open the bowels. 



POLYPODIUM. 

Polypody. 

Polypody, or fern-root, is an inert substance, formerly supposed 
to possess specific powers in tsenia, the secret of its use having 
been purchased of Madame Nouffer by the French government 
for a large price. It is obvious, however, that Madame Nouf- 
fer's cures depended upon the enormous cathartics, which she 
employed in conjunction with the root. This plant is the JlspU 
diumfiiix mas of Smith. 



POTASSA. 297 



POTJSSJ. 

Potass. 

The potass obtained by the process of the Pharmacopoeia is 
sufficiently pure for medical purposes, but contains a small por- 
tion of lime and acids, not, however, sufficient to affect its 
causticity. 

Qualities. Caustic potass is a white, brittle substance, with 
a smell like slaking lime, and a corrosive action on the mouth. It 
cannot be tasted or handled many moments with impunity. It 
dissolves in less than its weight of water, and crumbles soon, 
when exposed, by absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. It 
melts at 360°, and is volatilized by a red heat. Pure potass is 
an oxide of potassium, containing, according to Sir H. Davy, 86 
parts of potassium, to 14 of oxygen. 

Uses. This substance is a powerful escharotic, acting with 
great rapidity. It is principally used to form large issues, in 
cases of hip disease and other deep-seated inflammations. An 
issue of this kind is most conveniently formed by placing on the 
skin a piece of linen spread with adhesive plaster, and perforated 
with a hole of the size of the proposed issue. The caustic, being 
held in a paper, or in forceps, is then successively applied to all 
the skin which is left bare by the perforation. This skin immedi- 
ately becomes moist, and turns to a dark colour, a burning sensa- 
tion taking place in the part. If the caustic be good, the vitality 
of the skin will be destroyed in fifteen or twenty minutes. It 
may then be washed with vinegar, to neutralize what caustic re- 
mains. The use of the adhesive plaster is to prevent the action 
of the potass from spreading. The dead skin commonly sloughs 
off in about a week, leaving a cavity, which is most conveniently 
filled by a piece of wood or cork cut to the size, and occasion- 
ally smeared with some irritating ointment, if the part be dispos- 
ed to heal. 



298 POTASSA CUM CALCE.— AQUA POTASS^, 



FOTASSA CUM CALCE. 

Potass with Lime. 

This is also an escharotic, resembling the preceding article in 
its general properties, and employed with the same views. The 
addition of lime renders the preparation less deliquescent, and, of 
course, more manageable than pure potass. 



AQUA POTASSiE. 

Solution of Potass. 

Preparation. The carbonic acid, being abstracted by the 
lime, leaves the solution of potass in a highly caustic state, the al- 
kali being pure, with the exception of a small quantity of lime 
and some other substances, which do not interfere with its activity. 

Qualities. This liquid is colourless, of an oily consistence, 
without smell, and highly caustic. It does not effervesce with 
acids, nor afford a precipitate with lime water. 

Uses. It is sometimes used as a caustic, as in the bite of rabid 
animals, but it is less manageable than concrete potass. It has 
been much employed internally as a remedy against urinary cal- 
culus, but it is less grateful to the stomach than the carbonated 
alkalies, which are equally efficacious. It is to be remembered, 
that the only cases, to which it is applicable, are those of calculi 
composed of lithic acid, or of lithate of ammonia. In these it is 
found, that alkaline remedies, when administered early in the 
disease, have some agency in counteracting the tendency to cal- 
culous deposition. In the advanced stages, little benefit is deriv- 
ed from them. A chemical examination of the urinary deposits 
is necessary in the first instance, to decide the question between 
an acid and an alkajine treatment. Solution of potass is recom- 



POTASSiE SUBCARBONAS 1MPURUS. 299 

mended by Dr. Willan in lepra. It is employed to neutralize 
acidity in the stomach, but its long-continued use debilitates that 
organ. 

Exhibition. From ten to thirty minims may be taken, di- 
luted with water or milk. 



POTASSJS SUBCARBONAS LMPURUS. 

Impure Subcarbonate of Potass. Called Pearl ash. 

The common pearl ash of commerce is obtained from the ashes 
of wood and herbaceous plants, by lixiviating them, and evaporat- 
ing the ley to dryness in large iron kettles. An alkaline residue 
is obtained, usually of a brown colour owing to impurities ; and in 
this state is called potash. When the potash is calcined in a 
reverberatory furnace, its colouring matter is destroyed, its moist- 
ure driven off, it acquires a blueish-white colour and spongy 
texture, and in this state is known by the name of pearl ash. Of 
different trees, hickory and oak afford more potash than the soft- 
er woods. The dried stalks of herbaceous plants afford a still 
greater amount. It has been found, that the stalks of the potatoe 
yield half their weight of pearl ash, and those of phytolacca more 
than half their weight. Of various kinds of the potash of com- 
merce examined by Vauquelin, the American was found to ex- 
ceed that of any other country in strength, or in the amount of 
pure potass contained by a given quantity. Common pearl ash 
contains, beside subcarbonate of potass, a portion of sulphate and 
muriate of potass, oxides of iron and manganese, and sometimes 
sand, with which it is fraudulently adulterated. Its medicinal 
properties resemble those of the purified subcarbonate, which 
is commonly preferred, being a more uniform substance. 



300 POTASSiE SUBCARBONAS PURISSIMUS. 



POTASS^ SUBCARBONAS. 

Subcarbonate of Potass. 

This is the preceding article purified by ignition, solution, de- 
fsecation and evaporation. Its insoluble contents are thus got 
rid of, and the soluble impurities which remain are of no impor- 
tance in practice. See the following article. 



POTASS^} SUBCARBONAS PURISSIMUS.* 

Pure Subcarbonate of Potass. Formerly Salt of Tartar. 

Preparation. In the process of the Pharmacopoeia (p. 191.) 
the tartaric acid of the cream of tartar is decomposed, and, by the 
reunion of two of its components, oxygen and carbon, carbonic 
acid is formed, which combines with the potass, while the remain- 
ing carbonaceous matter is burnt out. The subcarbonate, thus 
obtained, is more pure than that obtained from pearl ash. The 
name Salt of tartar more properly applies to this article than to 
the preceding, but they are frequently confounded together, and 
their distinction is of no consequence in medical practice. 

Qualities and Uses. Subcarbonate of potass, obtained by 
either of the processes, is a coarse, white powder, deliquescent in 
the open air, changing vegetable blues to green, forming soap 
with oils, and effervescing with acids. It is used in medicine to 
obviate acidity in the stomach, to facilitate the solution of resi- 
nous cathartics, and to counteract the formation of lithic calculus. 
Its dose is from ten to thirty grains. Combined with lemon 
juice, it forms the common effervescing draught, a preparation 
highly grateful to patients with febrile diseases ; and particularly 

* See the list of Corrigenda. 



POTASS.E CARBONAS. 301 

efficacious in arresting the process of vomiting. A scruple of the 
subcarbonate of potass is neutralized bj about half a fluidounce 
of good lemon juice, or by fifteen grains of dissolved citric acid. 
The mixture should be swallowed while in a state of efferves- 
cence. 



POTASSES CARBONAS* 

Carbonate of Potass. 

In the most modern language of chemistry, the two preceding 
preparations are called carbonates, and this a bi-carbonate. Ac- 
cording to Dr. Wollaston, the latter contains just twice as much 
carbonic acid as the former. Since, however, the former salt is 
decidedly alkaline, and the latter hardly saturated ; the present 
nomenclature of the London and Edinburgh Colleges, which 
adopts the names of subcarbonate and carbonate, is more descrip- 
tive of the pharmaceutical character of the two preparations. An 
article, sold by our apothecaries under the name of Sal aeraius, is 
an impure carbonate of potass, made by exposing pearl ash, in 
wooden boxes perforated with holes, to the carbonic acid of a dis- 
tiller's or brewer's fermenting vat, for several months, until the 
alkali is nearly or quite neutralized. 

Qualities. Carbonate of potass has a saline and slightly al- 
kaline taste. It crystallizes in small, tetrahedral, rhomboidal 
prisms, with dihedral summits, and does not deliquesce in the 
air, like the subcarbonate. It is soluble in four parts of cold wa- 
ter, and in five sixths of its weight of boiling water, losing part of 
its carbonic acid during the solution. It changes vegetable blues 
to green. 

Uses. It is applicable to the same purposes as the subcarbo* 
nate, its acid being driven off in the stomach. Its comparatively 
agreeable taste renders it one of the most pleasant alkaline reme- 
dies, both as an antacid, diuretic or antilithic. It is preferable to 

* It was first called Superearhenas. See Corrigenda^ 
39 



302 POTASS^E ACETAS. 

the subcarbonate as an ingredient in the effervescing draught, and 
requires a quarter less of lemon juice for its saturation. From 
the facility with which it parts with its carbonic acid, it forms a 
convenient and effectual ferment for bread. 



LIQUOR POTASSjE SUBCARBONATIS. 

Solution of Subcarbonate of Potass, 

This is a definite mode of keeping subcarbonate of potass in a 
liquid form. The dose is about a fluidrachm. 



POTASS^ ACETAS. 

Acetate of Potass, 

Qualities. It exists in foliated, laminar masses, and deli- 
quesces rapidly in the open air. The taste is sharp and pungent. 
It is soluble in a little more than its weight of water, and in four 
times its weight of alcohol. It is decomposed by most acids and 
neutral salts, which are therefore chemically incompatible with it. 

Uses. Small doses, under favorable circumstances, operate 
powerfully upon the kidnies, whence its old name of Sal diureti- 
cus. Larger doses operate on the bowels. Dr. Paris supposes, 
that the digestive organs possess the power of decomposing saline 
compounds, into which vegetable acids enter as ingredients, and 
of eliminating their alkaline base, which, being carried into the 
circulation, acts as an immediate stimulus to the kidnies. 

Exhibition. A quantity, from a scruple to a drachm, dissolv- 
ed in water and taken every three or four hours, acts diuretically. 
Half an ounce is cathartic. 



fOTASS^E N1TRAS. SOS 



POTASS^ NITRAS. 

Nitrate of Potass. Called Nitre. 

Origin. Common nitre, or salt petre, is a natural produc- 
tion, which in some parts of the world effloresces abundantly 
upon the surface of the soil, particularly in India, from whence 
the greatest amount consumed in this country is imported. It is 
also formed artificially, in different countries, by making nitre 
beds of putrifying animal and vegetable substances, which, after 
fermenting for one or two years, are lixiviated, and the solution 
evaporated to crystallization. To purify it, the crystals are 
washed with cold water, dissolved in boiling water, and re-crys- 
tallized, with agitation. 

Qualities. Pure nitre has a pungent, saline taste, accompa- 
nied with a sense of coldness in the mouth. It crystallizes in 
hexahedral prisms with dihedral summits. It is soluble in seven 
parts of cold water, and in its own weight of boiling water. In 
alcohol it is insoluble. It melts with a moderate heat, and, when 
cast into moulds, forms Sal prunelle. 

Uses. Nitre is commonly considered refrigerant, and some- 
what sedative. It is given in diseases of increased arterial ex- 
citement, to allay the action of the circulating system, and dimin- 
ish heat and thirst. It has, apparently, some influence in in- 
creasing the excretion of the kidnies, and in proper quantities 
operates upon the bowels. 

Exhibition. A scruple may be given at a time dissolved in 
water. Two scruples commonly purge. An ounce occasions 
vomiting and hypercatharsis, and cannot be given with safety. 
Nitre forms a useful topical application in cynanche tonsillaris ; 
and if portions of it be suffered to dissolve slowly on the back 
part of the tongue, it is one of the best preventives in the incipi- 
ent stage ef that complaint. 



304 P0TASS.E SULPHAS.— POTASSiE TARTRAS,. 



P0TASS-2E SULPHAS. 

Sulphate of Potass. Formerly Vitriolated Tartar. 

Origin. After the distillation of nitric acid from nitre and 
sulphuric acid, there remains in the retort an acidulous sulphate 
of potass, known to the old chemists by the name of Sal enixum. 
When this salt is dissolved, and its superfluous acid saturated 
with potass, the crystals, which form on evaporation, consist of a 
neutral sulphate. This was formerly known by the names of 
Vitriolated tartar, Sal de duobus, &c. 

Qualities. It commonly crystallizes in six-sided prisms, 
terminated by hexagonal pyramids ; sometimes also in dodeca- 
hedrons. Its taste is bitter, acrid and saline. It is slowly soluble 
in five parts of boiling water, and in sixteen parts of cold. In 
the fire it decrepitates and melts. 

Uses. This salt is purgative in doses of from a drachm to 
half an ounce. It is less in use than many of the other cathartic 
salts, and is more frequently employed as a dividing medium in 
the formation of powders and pills. 

Exhibition. On account of its sparing solubility, it may be 
given in powder with a proper vehicle. 

Note. The old Sal poly chr est is a sulphate of potass with 
sulphur. The presence of sulphur occasions no important 
change in its medicinal properties. 



POTASSJE TARTRAS. 

Tartrate of Potass. Formerly Soluble Tartar. 

Preparation. In the process for preparing this article, the 
superabundant acid of the cream of tartar is saturated by the 
subcarbonate, and a neutral tartrate is obtained. 



POTASSiE ET SODjE TARTRAS. 305 

Qualities. If the evaporation has been conducted hastily, 
this salt exists in a granular form : if very slowly, it crystallizes 
in tetrahedral prisms, with dihedral summits. In the latter form 
it is soluble in its own weight of cold water, but in the granular 
shape it requires four times as much. When kept long in solu- 
tion, it changes to a subcarbonate. Alcohol dissolves it readily. 
Acids, acidulous salts and sour fruits convert it into a super- 
tartrate. Magnesia and lime decompose it. 

Uses. It is a valuable purgative, and forms a useful adjunct 
to senna and the resinous cathartics. 

Exhibition. From a drachm to an ounce, dissolved in water, 
may be given for a dose. 



POTASS^ ET SODM TARTRAS. 

Tartrate of Potass and Soda. Called Rochelle Salt. 

This is a triple salt, formed by neutralizing the excess of acid in 
cream of tartar, with soda. It has a bitter, saline taste, but is less 
unpalatable than most of the saline cathartics. Its crystals are 
large, hard, transparent, rhomboidal prisms, very slightly efflor- 
escent, and soluble in five parts of cold water. 

Uses. Rochelle salt is an excellent cathartic, operating with 
mildness, and disagreeing less with the stomach than many arti- 
cles of its class. 

Exhibition. From half an ounce to an ounce, dissolved in 
water, operates with ease and certainty. A solution of this salt 
in carbonic acid water forms a popular and useful laxative, sold 
in many of our cities under the name of Rochelle water. 



306 POTASS^ SUPERTARTRAS., 



POTASSiE SUPERTARTRAS. 

Supertartrate of Potass. Called Cream of Tartar, 

Origin. The casks, in which some kinds of wine are kept, 
become gradually incrusted with a hard, saline substance, tinged 
with the colouring matter of the wine, and otherwise impure; 
which has long been known by the name of tartar. When this 
saline crust is purified by solution, filtration and crystallization, 
it constitutes the common Cream of tartar, or Crystals of tartar, 
of commerce. 

Qualities. This salt exists in small, irregular crystals, 
generally run together in small masses, white, semitransparent 
and gritty. Its taste is harsh and acid. It is much less soluble 
than the foregoing salts of potass, requiring for its solution 30 
parts of boiling, and 120 parts of cold water. The solution de- 
composes spontaneously by keeping, a mucous matter is deposit- 
ed, and there remains a solution of carbonate of potass, coloured 
with a little oil. 

Uses. Cream of tartar is refrigerant, diuretic and laxative, 
according to the quantity and mode of its exhibition. Small 
doses, in solution, form a cooling drink in febrile diseases, and 
excite the urinary excretion. Large doses, in substance, occa- 
sion copious watery discharges from the bowels. It is a very 
useful medicine in dropsical cases, whether it operates by the 
kidnies or alimentary canal. Its diuretic activity is increased 
by combination with squill. When added to the resinous pur- 
gatives, it renders them better suited to inflammatory cases, as 
in the Compound powder of jalap. Combined with sulphur, it 
is a popular internal remedy in various diseases of the skin. 

Exhibition. A saturated solution in cold water may be used 
freely as a refrigerant and diuretic, forming, when sweetened, an 
agreeable liquid. The solution is more readily prepared, if hot 
water be employed, and subsequently cooled with ice. When 
intended to act as a purgative, cream of tartar should be given in 



PRINOS.— PRUNA.— PRUNUS VIRGINIANA. 307 

fine powder, mixed with treacle or syrup. From two to six 
drachms, taken in this way, prove an active cathartic. In dropsi- 
cal cases, some practitioners prefer giving a drachm every three 
or four hours. 



PRINOS. 

Black Mder. 

The bark of the Prinos verticillatus, a native shrub, is a 
moderate tonic. It has been used in intermittent fevers, dropsies 
and cutaneous diseases. Its bitterness and astringency, how- 
ever, are of an inferior order, and it does not seem entitled to a 
very high rank on the list of tonics. 



PRUNA. 

Prunes. 

Prunes are the dried fruit of the common plum tree. Those 
of the best quality are imported from France. They contain 
mucus, sugar and malic acid, and have an agreeable taste. They 
are nutritious and laxative, and are found useful by many per- 
sons, habitually taken, to obviate costiveness. Where they oppress 
the stomach, the skins should be rejected. 



PRUNUS VIRGINIANA. 

Wild Cherry Tree. 

The bark of this native tree is bitter and aromatic, its taste 
being strong, penetrating, and not disagreeable. It is undoubt- 



308 PULVERES. 

edly a useful tonic, and appears to possess, in some degree, a 
narcotic and antispasmodic property. The latter quality is 
strongest in the recent state, and in the distilled water. The 
powdered bark may be given in doses of from ten to fifteen 
grains. This tree, probably, contains prussic acid. 



PULVERES. 

Powders. 

The form of powder is a useful mode of exhibiting most medi- 
cines, which require to be given in substance. It is particularly 
adapted to those, the active parts of which are insoluble in any 
one menstruum, and which are too large in bulk to be conveniently 
made into pills. It is an improper form for articles which are 
deliquescent, or adhesive, or of a volatile nature. It has also 
been thought by some, that minute subdivision impairs the activi- 
ty of certain medicines by lessening their solubility, as in bark, 
rhubarb and guaiacum ; but this subject requires further inves- 
tigation. 

In compound powders, the articles should be intimately rubbed 
together in a mortar. Some dry substances are liable to act 
chemically on each other during their trituration ; and some 
even deliquesce in the process. Care should be taken that we 
do not, in this way, produce uncertain or unmanageable com- 
pounds. 

Powders should be kept in close-stopped bottles, and in a dry 
and shady place. 

Pulvis Aloes cum Canella. Powder of Aloes with Ca- 
nella* Formerly Hiera Picra. — This is an old and well-known 
compound, and its popularity furnishes the principal market for 
canella. It is a heating purgative, not well adapted to inflamma- 
tory cases* From ten to twenty grains may be taken at a dose ; 
but the popular form is to digest an ounce in. a pint of rum, and 
to take half a fluidounce, or more, at a time. 



PULVERES. 30$ 

Pulvis Aromaticus. Aromatic Powder. — A hot, spicy 
carminative. Dose, ten or twenty grains* 

Pulvis Calcis Carbonatis compositus. Compound Pow- 
der of Carbonate of Lime. — Antacid, astringent and aromatic. 
Given in diarrhoea, &c. in doses of ten or twenty grains. 

Pulvis Ipecacuanha ex Cupri Sulphatis. Powder of 
Ipecacuanha and Sulphate of Copper. — This powder is a very 
powerful emetic, if the whole be taken at once. 

Pulvis Ipecacuanha et Opii. Powder of Ipecacuanha and 
Opium. Formerly Dover's Powder. — This compound offers a 
remarkable instance of modified action, produced in one medi- 
cine by the presence of another. The specific powers, both of 
the opium and ipecacuanha, are mutually restrained, and the ac- 
tion of the compound is directed to the cutaneous vessels, form- 
ing a powerful sudorific. The only use of the sulphate of potass 
is, to promote the subdivision of the other ingredients. This 
powder should be taken in bed, and the body kept warmly cover- 
ed. No drink should be taken after it till the sweat begins to 
break out, after which, plentiful dilution may be used. It is 
given in rheumatism, gout, dysentery, &c. in doses of ten or fif- 
teen grains. It is often useful to increase the quantity of 
ipecacuanha. 

Pulvis Jalapa compositus. Compound Powder of Jalap. 
-—Jalap, when triturated with cream of tartar, becomes more 
minutely subdivided than if pulverized alone. By the presence 
of the cream of tartar, it is rendered more easy in its operation, 
and better suited to inflammatory cases or dropsy. Dose, a 
drachm, or somewhat more. 

Pulvis Scammonii compositus. Compound Powder of 
Scammony. — Less irritating and more effectual than pure scam- 
mony. Dose, about a scruple. 

40 



310 PYRETHRUM.— PYROLA.— QUASSIA. 



PYRETHRUM. 

Pellitory of Spain. 

The Anthemis pyrethrum is a perennial plant, growing in the 
south of Europe and the Barbary states. Its dried root is ex- 
tremely pungent, and is chiefly used as a topical stimulant to the 
mouth in tooth-ache, paralytic affections of the tongue and mus- 
cles of deglutition, head-ache, &c. It excites a copious flow of 
saliva. 



PYROLA. 

Pyrola. 

The Pyrola umbellata, or winter green, is a common plant of 
the American forest. Its leaves have a taste intermediate be- 
tween sweet and bitter, which, in the stalk and roots, is combined 
with some pungency. Spirit extracts these properties ; likewise 
water, though less perfectly. This plant has been formerly used 
in rheumatism. More recently it has been found a very useful 
palliative in strangury and nephritis, both in this country and in 
Europe. In dropsy it has sometimes exhibited striking^ effects as 
a diuretic, a pint of the saturated infusion being taken every 
twenty-four hours. It has the advantage over the more common 
diuretics, that it does not offend the stomach, but, on the contra- 
ry, invigorates that organ, and assists digestion. The bruised 
leaves, externally applied, act as a rubefacient and a discutient 
to indolent swellings. 



QUASSIA. 

Quassia. 

Origin. The Quassia excelsa, from which this wood is ob- 
tained, grows naturally in the West Indies, and is called, in Ja- 



QUERCUS ALBA. 311 

maica, bitter ash. The wood is imported here in blocks and 
billets. Several other species resemble this in their medicinal 
properties. 

Qualities. Quassia wood is of a pale, yellowish colour, and 
an intensely bitter taste. Water, alcohol and ether extract its 
bitterness. Dr. Thomson supposes this property to reside in a 
peculiar substance, to which the names of bitter principle and 
quassin have been given. It is precipitated from its solutions 
only by nitrate of silver and acetate of lead. 

Uses. Quassia is one of the most valuable of the bitter tonics. 
It is less heating and oppressive than most other substances of its 
class, and can be taken with impunity by many patients, in whom 
cinchona and the more powerful tonics bring on head-ache, con- 
striction of the stomach, and febrile symptoms. It has an invigo- 
rating effect on the stomach and bowels, and is peculiarly service- 
able in dyspeptic complaints. In incipient convalescence from 
febrile and inflammatory diseases, quassia is one of the safest 
agents, with which a tonic course, provided this is necessary, can 
be commenced. 

Exhibition. Quassia is reduced by rasping to the fineness of 
saw-dust, and is then best exhibited in the form of one of its in- 
fusions ; which see. 



QUERCUS ALBA. 

White Oak. 

Most, and perhaps all the species of oak have a high degree 
of astringency, depending Vipon tannin, which they possess in 
great quantities, and on account of which they are extensively 
used in the preparation of leather. The white oak is one of the 
American species, which is most esteemed for this property. The 
bark of the young branches is probably more astringent than that 
of the trunk, on account of the mass of dead cortical layers, 
which constitutes a part of the thickness of the latter. Oak bark 



312 QUERCUS TINCTORI A.— RANUNCULUS. 

has been given in some instances as a substitute for cinchona, 
to which, however, it is greatly inferior. Its chief use is as an 
external astringent and antiseptic. A strong decoction is em- 
ployed with advantage as a gargle in cynanche, and as a lotion in 
gangrenous ulcers and offensive discharges of different kinds. 



QUERCUS TINCTORIA, 

Black Oak, 

This is also a native species, the bark of which affords the ex- 
tract known to dyers by the name of quercitron. Its properties 
are similar to those of the preceding. Both are very common 
trees, and are properly substituted for the ({uercus robur of Eu* 
ropean dispensatories, which is not found here. 



RANUNCULUS. 

Crowfoot. 

The family of Ranunculus, with the exception of a very few 
species, is characterized by a violent acrimony, which resides in 
every part of their structure. A variety of acrid species are com- 
mon in this country, and known under the name of buttercups. 
They impart a pungent, burning sensation to the tongue, and in- 
flame and vesicate the skin in some individuals. The acrimony 
is of a volatile nature, and is retained in perfection by the dis- 
tilled water, while the decoction and boiled root are inert. Be- 
fore the introduction of cantharides, the roots of ranunculus were 
much used as rubefacients and blisters. They appear to have 
been much less certain than flies in their operation, and in some 
instances to have occasioned deep running sores, which it was 



RESINA PINI.— RHAMNUS, 313 

found difficult to heal. All individuals are not susceptible of 
their operation.* 



RESINA PINI. 

Pine Resin. 

Common turpentine consists of resin held in solution by a 
volatile oil. All species of the pine tree contain it, but most of 
the turpentine consumed in the United States, and likewise that 
which forms a considerable article of export from this country, is 
obtained from the southern pitch pine, which is the Pinus palus- 
tris of Linnseus, and P. australis of Michaux. At distilleries 
of this article, the oil of turpentine passes over and leaves the 
resin behind, which is afterwards sold in barrels under the name 
of rosin. 

Qualities. It is brittle, cracking with slight changes of tem- 
perature, becoming plastic and afterwards melting with a mode- 
rate heat. It is yellowish in small pieces, semitransparent and 
acrid to the taste. It is very inflammable, burning with a strong, 
red, smoky flame. It is insoluble in water ; but soluble in oil, 
alcohol, ether, alkalies and acetic acid. It consists of carbon, 
hydrogen and oxygen. 

Uses. Pine resin is not given internally, but enters into the 
composition of various plasters, cerates, &c. It should be puri- 
fied by the apothecary by melting and straining. 



RHAMNUS. 

Buckthorn, 

The Rhamnus catharticus, which affords this article, is an Eu- 
ropean shrub, not found in the United States. The berries have 

* See American Medical Botany, Vol. III. 61. 



314 RHEUM. 

a bitterish, acrid, nauseous taste, and are highly cathartic. Their 
operation is unpleasant, being attended with griping and thirst. 
A scruple of the fresh berries, or a drachm of the dried, forms a 
dose. See Syrup of buckthorn. In this country it is often 
confounded with Crataegus crus galli. 



RHEUM. 

Rhubarb. 

Origin. Rhubarb is the dried root of the Rheum palmatum, 
a plant found native in Tartary and China, and perfectly suscep- 
tible of cultivation in the United States. Boerhaave and some 
others have supposed the Chinese rhubarb to be produced by the 
Rheum undulatum ; and it is possible that several co-species may 
furnish the article of commerce. Three varieties of rhubarb are 
known to druggists — the Russian, the Turkey and the East In- 
dian or Chinese. The two first resemble each other in appear- 
ance and quality, while the last is of a somewhat different 
character. 

Qualities. The best Russian or Turkey rhubarb comes in 
roundish pieces, perforated with a large hole, of a yellow or red- 
dish colour, breaking with a ragged fracture, and marked inter- 
nally with diverging red streaks. It has a peculiar, somewhat 
aromatic odour, and a bitter, subacrid, astringent taste ; feels 
gritty when chewed, and communicates to the saliva a bright 
yellow colour. Its powder is of a buff yellow. Boiling water 
dissolves 40 parts in 100, alcohol 27, ether 15. The infusion 
is of a brown colour, the tinctures of a bright golden yellow. 
Chinese or East India rhubarb comes in oblong or flattish pieces, 
seldom perforated ; is more heavy and compact, of a brownish 
yellow outside, and variegated with yellow and white within. 
It has a stronger odour, and a more nauseous taste than the Tur- 
key rhubarb. It is also more soluble, water taking up one half 



RHEUM. 31 5 

its weight, according to Mr. Thomson ; alcohol two fifths, and 
ether one fifth. 

Various chemical analyses of this root have been made by dif- 
ferent experimenters, with results which do not fully accord with 
each other. M. Henry, in the Bulletin de Fharmacie, announces 
the existence of the following principles, detected by him, both in 
the French and Russian rhubarb : 1. — A yellow colouring princi- 
ple, insoluble in cold, but soluble in hot water, also in alcohol and 
ether. 2. — A sweetish, fixed oil, soluble in alcohol and ether. 
3. — A small quantity of gum. 4. — An amylaceous substance. 
5.— Supermalate of lime. 6. — Oxalate of lime, one sixth of the 
whole ! 7. — A salt of potass. 8. — Sulphate of lime. 9. — A 
small portion of oxide of iron. 10. — Tannin. 11. — Woody 
fibre. — Mr. A. L. Thomson, in his Dispensatory, details a great 
number of experiments made with rhubarb, which lead him to 
conclude, that it contains a large portion of extractive matter, a 
small portion of resin, mucus, tannin, gallic acid, a colouring 
matter, much oxalate of lime, and minute portions of alumina 
and siiex. The Russian rhubarb contains more tannin, oxalate 
of lime and resin ; the Chinese more extractive and gallic acid. — 
Lastly, Mr. Brande, in the Quarterly Journal of Science, informs 
us from his own analysis, that a hundred component parts of 
rhubarb are, water 8.2, — gum S1.0, — resin 10.0, — extract, tan and 
gallic acid 26.0, — phosphate of lime 2.0, — malate of lime 6.5, — ■ 
woody fibre 16.3. — A peculiar acid, supposed by Mr. Henderson 
to exist in rhubarb, and to which he gave the name of Rheumic 
acid, turns out to be no other than the oxalic, according to 
M. De Lassaignes. 

Uses. Rhubarb has long been known as a valuable cathartic. 
Its operation is slower than that of many other purgatives, but is 
nevertheless sure and effectual. It is less adapted to cases 
where drastic purging is required, than to those which call for a 
medicine of mildness and safety. It is particularly resorted to 
for relief of the bowels, in debilitated patients, in cases where 
violent purging would be improper or unsafe, it is also a com- 
mon purgative for children. A combination of this medicine 
with calomel forms an active and useful evacuant, the cathartic 



316 RHUS GLABRUM. 

power of each being reciprocally increased by the presence of 
the other. Rhubarb has an astringent and tonic power, in com- 
mon with its purgative property, [t is hence particularly adapt- 
ed to the treatment of common diarrhea, since it leaves the bowels 
in a favorable state after the dislodgement of the offending mat- 
ter. Small doses are useful as a tonic in some dyspeptic cases, 
in chlorosis and hypochondriasis. 

Exhibition. Various preparations, particularly tinctures, are 
made from this article, but no one operates so certainly as the 
substance in fine powder. From a scruple to half a drachm, mix- 
ed with treacle or jelly, or diffused in some aromatic water, 
opens the bowels freely. The operation of rhubarb may be 
known to have taken place by the yellow colour it communicates 
to the alvine discharges, a circumstance which it is important to 
attend to in some questions relating to the repetition of cathar- 
tics in critical cases. As a stomachic, from two to six grains 
may be given as often as can be done without purging. The 
popular practice of toasting rhubarb only diminishes its activity, 
without adding to it any valuable property. 



RHUS GLABRUM. 

Sumach. 

The berries of this, and several other American species of su- 
mach, have a strong, acid taste, and at times exhibit crystallized 
or saline particles on their surface. Dr. Horsefield supposes the 
acid they contain to be the tartaric ; but it is, not improbably, an 
acid sui generis. The acidulous infusion of these berries is used 
as a refrigerant in fevers, and a gargle in sore throats. The 
bark and leaves of the shrub are highly astringent, and are used 
in tanning leather. 



R1CINI OLEUM. 317 



RICINI OLEUM. 
Castor Oil. 

Origin. The plant called Ricinus communis, or Falma 
Christi/is found in most tropical countries* and will grow in any 
temperate latitude, where the summer is sufficiently long. Cas* 
tor oil is obtained from the seeds by divesting them of their outer 
coat, bruising, and subjecting them to pressure. The cokUdrawn 
oil, extracted by pressure without heat, is incomparably the best. 
The oil extracted by boiling the bruised seeds in water is more 
nauseous, darker coloured, easily becomes rancid, and is some- 
times violent in its operation. The best oil now in our markets 
is prepared in the United States, principally at the southward. 

Qualities. Good cold-drawn castor oil is thick, viscid, trans- 
parent and nearly colourless. It has little taste, but leaves a 
slight sensation of acrimony in the throat, after it is swallowed. 
Oil obtained by boiling has a brownish hue. Both kinds become 
rancid by age and exposure, deepen in colour, and acquire a hot, 
nauseous taste. In chemical qualities this resembles the other 
fixed vegetable oils, but is more soluble in alcohol and ether, 
particularly the latter. 

Uses. This, like the other fixed oils, if taken in small quanti- 
ties, is simply nutritive and demulcent. In larger quantities than 
the stomach can digest, it passes unchanged through the body, 
exerting a cathartic stimulus on the mucous coat of the intes- 
tines. Compared with other purgatives, it is very quick and very 
mild in its operation. It is peculiarly suited to cases, in which 
more irritating purgatives would prove hurtful ; as in nephritic 
and calculous affections, in colica pictonum, and after injuries or 
surgical operations, in which the abdominal viscera are concerned. 
It is an excellent purgative for young infants, and for women in 
child-bed, at the commencement of lactation. Castor oil produces 
more fsecal and less liquid evacuations than the neutral salts. 
41 



318 ROSA. 

It is less suited than some other cathartics to the disease of he- 
morrhoids, and indeed sometimes aggravates that complaint. 

The seeds, from which castor oil is extracted, are covered with 
an acrid skin, which renders them both emetic and highly drastic. 
It is probable that the oil obtained by boiling the seeds is im- 
pregnated with the properties of the skin. Two of these seeds 
will occasion purging ; and their use was known to Hippocrates. 
Some attempts have been made to qualify their operation by dif- 
ferent modes of preparation, but without success. 

Exhibition. Although good castor oil is rather insipid than 
unpleasant, as is proved by the facility with which infants take it; 
yet most adults have a great aversion to swallowing it. The dis- 
gust is more effectually overcome by concealing its oily consist- 
ence than its taste ; and by obviating associations rather than 
sensations. If a spoonful be dropped into cold water, it collects 
into a roundish mass, which many persons swallow with ease, 
like the yolk of an egg, especially if covered with a few drops of 
any common spirit. It may also be rubbed into an emulsion 
with mucilage, sugar or yolk of eggs, and flavoured with cinna- 
mon or mint water. Many persons prefer taking it in coffee or 
chocolate. Ardent spirits are a common addition to castor oil, 
but are medicinally incompatible with it, when added in any con- 
siderable quantity. The Compound tincture of senna is much 
more appropriate, and, when blended with the oil by agitation, 
conceals its qualities and increases its operation. The common 
dose of oil is a fluidounce or somewhat less ; for infants from 
one to three fluidrachms. 



ROSA. 



The London and Edinburgh Colleges direct for officinal use 
the petals of two kinds of rose, the Rosa gallica and JR. centifo- 
lia. Sir J. E. Smith, in his elaborate article in Rees* Cyclopsedia, 



ROSMARINUS.— RUBIA. 319 

pronounces these to be mere varieties of the same species . Innu- 
merable varieties, indeed, both in colour and form, are found 
among those cultivated in our gardens. 

Qualities. The odour of these petals is extremely fragrant, 
and their taste sweetish, subacidulous and astringent. 

Uses. They are employed for the distillation of rose water, 
the formation of Confection of roses, &c. They are mildly as- 
tringent, but more used as a pleasant accompaniment to other 
medicines than for any active properties of their own. 



ROSMARINUS. 

Rosemary. 

Rosemary is a shrubby plant of the south of Europe and of 
Barbary, occasionally cultivated in this country. Both the 
leaves and flowers have a grateful, aromatic odour, and a bitter- 
ish, warm, pungent taste. It is stimulant and carminative, but 
more used to communicate a pleasant quality to other medicines 
than for its own specific powers. 



RUBIA. 

Madder. 

Madder is a native of the south of Europe, and is extensively 
cultivated as a valuable colouring substance. In a medicinal 
view, it is rather an inert drug ; yet has acquired some reputa- 
tion as an emmenagogue, in doses of a scruple three or four times 
a day. 



320 RUBUS TRIVIALIS,-,RUMEX BRITTANICA, 



RUBUS TRIVIALIS. 

Dewberry. 

The bark of the root of the dewberry* or low blackberry* a 
common, native briar, is highly astringent, possessing both tannin 
and gallic acid in large quantity. It is a popular remedy in 
cholera infantum, to which disease it appears well suited after 
liberal evacuations have been made. In the secondary stages of 
dysentery, and in diarrhoea, after the removal of offending causes 
from the alimentary canal, it has been resorted to with success 
in controlling the discharges, and giving tone to the bowels. It 
is usually exhibited in strong decoction. 



RUBUS VILLOSUS. 

Blackberry. 

This is commonly distinguished from the preceding by the 
name of high* or tall blackberry. The properties of the two are 
the same. 



RUMEX BRITTANICA. 

Water Dock. 

The common American water dock, which grows in wet, boggy 
soils, and upon the margin of ditches, is a moderately stimulating 
and astringent plant. It is esteemed by many country practi- 
tioners as a local application to indolent and ill-conditioned 
ulcers. A strong decoction of the root is usually employed as a 
wash in these cases. Sometimes an ointment, formed by simmer- 



RUMEX OBTUSIFOLIUS.— SABBATIA. 321 

ing the root in hog's lard, is beneficially applied in herpes. The 
use of this plant, according to Colden, was learned from the 
Indians. 



RUMEX OBTUSIFOLIUS. 

Blunt-leaved Dock. 

This species of dock is a foreign plant, naturalized as a weed 
in the cultivated grounds of this country. The root is bitterish 
and astringent. A decoction of it, taken internally, is laxative. 
Externally it is applied for the cure of ulcers and cutaneous dis- 
eases, and sometimes with very good effect. The Rumex cris- 
pus, or curled dock, another imported weed, resembles this in its 
qualities, and, in the form of ointment or decoction, is found to 
cure mild cases of psora and other eruptions. 



SABBATIA. 

American Centaury. 

This is the Chironia annularis of Linn ecus. It is a native 
of damp, rich soils, in the middle and southern parts of the 
United States, where it is commonly known by the name of 
centaury. Every part of the plant is a pure, strong bitter, and 
communicates its qualities to both water and alcohol It appears 
to be a remedy in considerable use at the south for intermittent 
fever. On the stomach it exerts an invigorating influence, and 
promotes appetite and digestion. It may be given in powder in 
doses of ten or twenty grains, or in infusion, which is the more 
common mode. 



322 SABINA.-SACCHARUM. 



SABINA. 

Savin. 

Origin. The true savin tree belongs to the old continent, 
though a variety of it is said to grow in the northern and western 
parts of America. 

Qualities. The leaves have a strong, heavy, disagreeable 
odour, and a hot, bitter taste. They afford a volatile oil by dis- 
tillation. Water and alcohol extract their active principles, but 
the latter most abundantly. 

Uses. Savin is a strong stimulant, augmenting the force of 
the circulation, promoting diaphoresis, and acting specifically 
on the uterine system. It is used in cases of amenorrhcea, which 
are unattended with inflammatory or febrile symptoms, and where 
the skin and extremities are cold, and the pulse languid. In 
plethoric habits, its use should be preceded by venesection. 
Professor Chapman speaks with great confidence of its efficacy 
in some forms of chronic rheumatism. It has had some reputa- 
tion as a vermifuge ; and its affinity to the terebinthinate reme- 
dies would seem to justify the credit attached to it. Externally 
it is applied as a stimulant to indolent ulcers, to some cutaneous 
eruptions, and to blisters intended to be permanent. 

Exhibition. Ten or fifteen grains may be taken three times 
a day in powder, which may be increased gradually to several 
times the quantity, if it does not produce febrile symptoms, pain, 
disturbance of the alimentary canal, or strangury. Externally 
the powder, or the Savin cerate, may be applied. 



SACCHARUM. 

Sugar. 

Origin. The sugar-cane is a native of India ; it is cultivated 
in most tropical countries, and succeeds as far north as Louisiana 



SACCHARUM. 323 

and the southernmost parts of the United States. This cane con- 
tains a saccharine juice, which, when crushed out between iron 
rollers, and boiled down to a certain consistence, deposits crys- 
tals of raw sugar, leaving a dark viscid fluid, known by the name of 
molasses. Raw sugar, called also brown and muscovado sugar, 
is refined in this country by the sugar boilers. It is coarsely 
ground, dissolved in lime water, and clarified with bullocks' 
blood ; then boiled down to a proper consistency, the impurities 
being skimmed off as they rise, and poured into conical earthen 
vessels, where it is allowed to grain or crystallize. The point of 
the cone is perforated, and the base covered with moist clay, the 
moisture of which percolates the sugar, and runs off through the 
perforated apex, which is placed undermost, carrying with it the 
uncrystallized, impure syrup. In this state it is called loaf 
sugar, and requires a second purification before it becomes com- 
pletely refined sugar. 

Qualities. Raw sugar has a peculiar smell, and a strong, 
sweet taste. It is in masses of small, sparkling, irregular crys- 
tals, of a yellowish colour. Refined sugar is inodorous and sim- 
ply sweet. Its colour is pure white, and the mass or loaf, in 
which it is concreted, is hard, brittle, pulverulent, and not deli- 
quescent in the air. It dissolves in its own weight of cold water. 
When united at a higher temperature with a smaller quantity, it 
remains dissolved, forming syrup. Four parts of boiling alcohol 
dissolve one of sugar, but by rest a portion of it separates again 
in crystals. Oils also readily combine with it, and the solution is 
miscible with water, forming an emulsion. Lime and the fixed 
alkalies form compounds with sugar, which are not sweet. Sugar 
consists, according to Thenard and Gay Lussac, of oxygen 50.63, 
— carbon 42.47, — and hydrogen 6.90. 

Molasses or treacle, is the uncrystallizable part of the juice of 
the sugar-cane, consisting of sugar in a state of combination with 
other vegetable principles. Both molasses and solutions of sugar 
undergo the vinous fermentation, and yield large quantities of 
alcohol on distillation. 

Uses. Both sugar and molasses are demulcent, and serve to 
allay the irritation of inflamed mucous membranes. Brown 



324 SAGO.— SALEP. 

sugar and molasses are laxative, but refined sugar has been sup- 
posed to have an opposite tendency. Sugar is highly nutritive, 
especially in the natural combinations, in which it exists in ripe 
fruits and esculent roots ; though Magendie has shewn, that ani- 
mals cannot be supported long upon sugar alone. Given in large 
quantities it is an antidote for the poison of verdigris. Sugar is 
extensively used in pharmacy to improve the taste of medicines, 
and as the basis of syrups, troches and confections. It is a com- 
mon and useful agent in preventing the decomposition of animal 
and vegetable substances. 



SAGO. 

Sago. 

• 

Sago is the pith of one or more species of Cycas, a genus of 
palm trees growing in India and Japan. It is procured by split- 
ting the trunks, and scraping out the inner portion, which is 
afterwards freed from woody fibres by agitation in water. Sago 
is used as bread, and constitutes a great part of the food of many 
tribes in the places where it grows. It is granulated for exporta- 
tion by forcing it through a coarse sieve, and drying it with heat. 
It comes to us in hard, round, whitish grains, of a farinaceous 
character, wholly soluble in boiling water. It constitutes a light, 
nutritive aliment for the sick, and is prepared by boiling the grains 
till they are dissolved, and seasoning it with sugar, nutmeg, wine 
or salt. 



SALEP. 

Salep. 

This is a farinaceous powder, brought from Turkey, where it 
is made from the roots of several species of Orchis. It is a less 
delicate article than Maranta, or arrow root, which it resembles 
in its properties* 



SALIX.— SAMBUCUS.—SANGUINARIA. 325 



SALIX. 

Willow. 

Several native species of willow have been advantageously 
introduced into medical use. The one indicated by the Pharma- 
copoeia has a bark, which is extremely bitter, and possesses con- 
siderable astringency. I have the authority of some physicians 
of the highest standing for commending it as a powerful and 
salutary tonic, particularly in complaints of the stomach. It is 
susceptible of the same modes of exhibition as cinchona. 



SAMBUCUS. 

Elder. 

The Sambucus Canadensis is substituted in the Pharmacopoeia 
for the $. nigra of European books, which is not found native in 
the United States. They are co-species, closely resembling each 
other. The latter, however, is a tree ; the former a shrub. The 
berries have a sweetish, sickly taste, and contain saccharine 
matter, and an acid, probably the malic. They are moderately 
laxative, and have been accounted expectorant. An infusion of 
elder flowers is a popular diaphoretic. 



SANGUINARIA. 

Blood Jloot. 

This is an indigenous article, derived from the Sanguinaria 
Canadensis, one of our earliest flowering plants, common in 
woods in various parts of the United States. 

Qualities. The root is brownish externally; but, when 
broken, emits a bright vermilion or orange-coloured juice. This 
42 



326 SANTALUM. 

root has a bitter taste, leaving a sense of acrimony in the throat 
when swallowed. Besides fibrous matter, it contains resin, 
feecula, bitter extractive, and an acrid principle. 

Uses. The medicinal properties of blood root are those of an 
acrid narcotic. When taken in a large dose, it irritates the 
fauces, leaving a disagreeable sensation in the throat for some 
time after it is swallowed. It occasions heartburn, nausea, faint- 
ness, and frequently vertigo and diminished vision. It also 
vomits ; but, in this operation, it is less certain than many other 
emetics in common use. "When given in smaller doses, such as 
produce nausea without vomiting, and repeated at frequent in- 
tervals, it lessens the frequency of the pulse in a manner some- 
what analogous to the operation of digitalis. This, however, is a 
secondary effect, since, in its primary operation, it seems to 
accelerate the circulation. In still smaller doses, such as do not 
disturb the stomach, it has acquired some reputation as a tonic. 
It has been given in phthisis, both as a preventive in the early 
symptoms, and as a palliative in the confirmed disease ; also in 
catarrh, typhoid pneumonia, dyspepsia, and various other com- 
plaints ; in which, however, its use should not exclude the employ- 
ment of more active means. It should be dried a short time be- 
fore it is to be used, as the virtues are much impaired by age. 

Exhibition. From ten to twenty grains ordinarily produce 
vomiting. Many country physicians prefer an infusion made 
with a drachm of the powder to a gill of water, of which a table 
spoonful may be repeated till the effect of the medicine is ob- 
tained. As a tonic, the tincture is more frequently used.* 



SANTALUM. 

Bed Sanders. 

Red sanders is the wood of a tree growing in the East Indies. 
It has a fine red colour, which becomes darker on exposure to 

* See a paper on this plant by Dr. Wm, Tully, New England Journal. 
VIII. 106. 



SAPO. 327 

the air. The colouring matter is of a resinous nature, and is 
readily imparted to alcohol, but not to water. Red'sanders has 
no particular medicinal efficacy, but is retained in most pharma- 
copoeias as a colouring drug for tinctures. 



SAPO. 

Castile Soap. 

Soaps are combinations of alkalies with oils ; soda producing 
hard, and potass soft soap. Earths and metallic oxides have also 
the property of forming a kind of soaps with oils. Castile soap 
is made from olive oil and soda ; its marbled appearance being 
given by the sulphate and red oxide of iron, which are mixed in 
at different stages of the process by which it is made. 

Qualities. Good soap should have little odour, and a disa- 
greeable, alkaline taste. With water it forms an opaque, milky 
solution ; and with alcohol a nearly transparent one. It is de- 
composed by all the acids, and by many neutral salts. Hence 
hard water curdles soap, by abstracting its alkali and leaving an 
insoluble residue. According to Pelletier and others, new made 
soap contains oil 60.94, — alkali 8.56, — water 30.50. A part of 
the water is lost by age. 

.Uses. Soap is a convenient substance in pharmacy' for the 
formation of pills, particularly of resinous powders, the solution 
of which in the stomach it is supposed to facilitate. With saline 
compounds it is a less proper adjunct, being liable, in many of 
them, to produce decomposition. As an antidote to certain me- 
tallic poisons, it possesses some efficacy, and has the advantage 
of being always at hand. Considered as a medicine in diseases, 
soap possesses no activity beyond that of the alkali with which it 
is made. 



328 SARSAPARILLA.— SASSAFRAS. 

SARSAPARILLA, 
Sarsaparilla, 

According to Muhlenberg and some other botanists, the Smi- 
lax sarsaparilla is a native of the United States, though the 
root is usually imported from South America. Pursh thinks it 
identical with S. glauca of Michaux. 

Qualities. The imported root comes in long, slender twigs, 
covered with a wrinkled, brown bark, white within, and having a 
small, woody heart. It is without smell, and, when chewed, is 
mucilaginous and slightly bitter. Boiling water extracts its 
properties. 

Uses. Sarsaparilla is a mild demulcent, alterative and sub- 
tonic. It has, at several distinct times, enjoyed reputation as a 
remedy in syphilis, either as a specific for the disease, an auxiliary 
to mercury, or a resource in cases where mercury fails. Re- 
cently its use has been revived in the antiphlogistic treatment 
of syphilis, since that disease has been found curable without 
mercury. Perhaps there are other mucilaginous roots, which 
would answer as well. 



SASSAFRAS. 

Sassafras, 

The Laurus sassafras is found in almost every part of the 
United States. Its bark has a fragrant smell, and an agreeable, 
spicy taste, that of the root being most pungent, and that of the 
branches more pleasant. A volatile oil is the chief seat of these 
properties. Sassafras was formerly much celebrated in syphilis, 
rheumatism and dropsy ; but is now much less noted than for- 
merly. Its properties are those of a warm stimulant and dia- 



SCAMMONIUM. 329 

phoretic, which qualities it possesses with a multitude of other 
vegetables. The pith of the twigs of this tree is highly mucilagi- 
nous, and a minute quantity renders water viscid and ropy. 
Mucilage of sassafras pith is peculiarly mild and lubricating, and 
has been used with much benefit in dysentery and catarrh, and 
particularly as a lotion in the inflammatory stages of ophthalmia. 



SCAMMONIUM. 

Scammony. 

Origin. This gum resin is brought from Syria and the cen- 
tral parts of Asia. It is procured from the roots of Convolvulus 
scammonia, by cutting oft' the top and collecting the juice which 
runs out. Each root yields a few drachms only, and is exhausted 
in about twelve hours. The juice is inspissated by evaporation, 
but is frequently adulterated with flour, ashes and sand. The 
Aleppo scammony is considered more pure than that from 
Smyrna. 

Qualities. Good scammony is in blackish-grey cakes, which 
are light and friable. It has a peculiar, heavy odour, and a bitter, 
acrid taste. When rubbed with the wet finger, the surface be- 
comes white with emulsion, or lather. Water, by trituration, 
takes up one fourth, and alcohol two thirds. Diluted alcohol dis- 
solves all but the impurities. 

Uses. Scammony is a powerful drastic purgative, in which 
character it was known to the ancients. It has been used in cases 
of dropsy, hypochondriasis, worms, &c. The reports of medical 
authors differ somewhat in regard to its activity, probably owing 
to the variable quality of the drug. 

Exhibition. Scammony is less frequently administered 
alone, than in composition with other medicines of its class. It 
enters into various cathartic formulae. When administered by 
itself, from five to fifteen grains are a proper dose, triturated 
with almonds, syrup or some other demulcent, to prevent it from 
irritating the fauces. 



330 SCILLA. 



SC1LLA. 
Squill, 

Origin. The countries, both of Europe and Africa, which 
border on the Mediterranean, produce the Scilla maritima, a 
perennial, bulbous-rooted plant. The country around Athens is 
said to abound with this vegetable. The bulb is large, pear- 
shaped and coated, and is brought to us either in its living state, 
covered with sand, or in the form of dried scales, which consti- 
tuted the coats of the bulb. 

Qualities. The taste of the squill is nauseous, bitter and 
acrid, and its recent juice inflames and ulcerates the skin. Its 
active properties are of a volatile nature, and are much impaired 
by keeping, especially in the form of powder. They are also 
diminished by boiling. Alcohol and vinegar are adequate sol- 
vents for this medicine. Water also extracts the bitterness, but 
without much of the acrimony. According to Vogel, squill con- 
tains of gum 6 parts, — tannin 24, — sugar 6, — woody fibre 30, — 
and 35 of a bitter principle, which is white, transparent, and breaks 
with a resinous fracture. This has received the name of scillitin. 

Uses. Squill, in large doses, is a powerful emetic and cathar- 
tic, but is too irregular in its operation to be much used for this 
purpose alone. In smaller doses, properly managed, it acts on 
the kidnies as a diuretic. With a view to this object, it is ad- 
vantageously combined with small quantities of opium, to prevent 
its action on the alimentary canal, and with calomel, which ap- 
pears to augment its diuretic activity. Various other substances 
are supposed to augment the diuretic power of squill, such as 
oxymuriate of mercury, supertartrate of potass, oil of turpentine, 
and cantharides. Squill is usually ranked with the class of 
medicines called expectorants, and, when given in nauseating 
doses, it commonly increases the discharge from the mucous 
membrane of the lungs. It is too stimulant, however, to be used 
in pulmonary inflammations, which are of a kind to require bleed- 



SECALE CORNUTUM. 331 

ing and vesication, and is seldom indicated until spontaneous ex- 
pectoration begins to take place. When, however, the inflamma- 
tion does not extend to the cellular texture of the lungs, but is 
confined to the mucous membrane, as in catarrh, bronchitis, and 
some kinds of asthma ; the squill is a more appropriate remedy. 
Preparations of squill are frequently given to children for minor 
complaints of the lungs, with considerable benefit, especially 
when they produce vomiting. 

Exhibition. As a diuretic, squill is best given in substance, 
in the combinations above-mentioned. One grain may be given 
at first, and in a pill, three times a day, and gradually raised to 
six or more, if nausea does not take place. In pulmonary com- 
plaints, the syrup and the acetated honey of squill are very popu- 
lar medicines; likewise the squill in substance, made into pills 
with tartarized antimony, opium and calomel. None of the 
liquid preparations retain the full activity of the substance. 



SECALE CORNUTUM. 

Spurred Rye. Called Ergot.* 

Origin. Various species of grain and grasses are subject to a 
morbid excrescence on some part of the ear or spike, to which the 
French name ergot has been applied. Rye is more frequently 
affected with this appendage than any other grain. Different 
conjectures have been offered relative to the nature of this ex- 
crescence, the most probable of which is that of Decandolle, who 
considers the ergot to be a parasitic vegetable, of the tribe of 
fungi and genus sclerotium. 

Qualities. Ergot resembles a grain of rye elongated to 
several times the common length, of an irregular form, and a 
dark colour. It has a light and brittle texture, and an unpleasant 
taste. According to Vauquelin, it contains a pale yellow colour- 

* See a memoir on ergot, by the author, in the New England Medical 
Journal, Vol. V. p. 156, reprinted in Brande's Journal of the Royal 



332 SECALE CORNUTUM. 

ing matter ; an oily matter ; a violet colouring matter ; an acid, 
probably phosphoric ; and a vegeto-animal matter. 

Effects and Uses. This substance was formerly suspect- 
ed of producing certain epidemic diseases — the dry gangrene and 
raphania — but the suspicion was probably unfounded. In regard 
to its immediate effect on the system, the reports of medical 
authors differ widely, some considering it highly deleterious. 
From my own observations, I have found that it produces nausea 
and vomiting in doses of from a scruple to a drachm ; that it 
seldom operates upon the bowels ; and that large doses produce 
head-ache and temporary febrile symptoms. It has very little 
acrimony, and does not prove sternutatory when snuffed up the 
nostrils. 

Besides these more general effects, ergot has a specific power 
of stimulating the uterus during the process of parturition, in a 
manner which is not known to be produced by any other medici- 
nal agent. This effect is wholly unequivocal, and cannot be 
confounded with the common uterine efforts. It is moreover 
certain, or at least its failures are not more frequent than those 
of any of our most common operative drugs. This operation 
consists in a powerful, incessant and unremitting contraction of 
the uterus, not alternating with intervals of ease, as in common 
labour, but continuing without remission until the child is ex- 
pelled. When ergot is prematurely or injudiciously administer- 
ed, the child does not breathe at birth, is difficult to resuscitate, 
and is sometimes irrecoverably dead. This effect has been attri- 
buted to a poisonous quality in the ergot, but is obviously the 
consequence, simply, of long-continued and unremitting pressure 
on the child, a fact pointed out in the New England Journal as 
early as 1812. 

A few medical writers, principally in Europe, in consequence, 
probably, of not being furnished with the genuine article in an 
unimpaired state ; have doubted the power of ergot to affect or 
alter the action of the uterus. But I may safely assert, that after 
fifteen years, during which this drug has attracted notice among 
us, there is scarcely an article of the Materia Medica, upon the 
character of which the minds of the proiession in this country are 



SENEGA. 333 

more fully made up than upon this. Indeed, our Medical Jour- 
nals and books of Materia Medica have teemed with evidences 
of its activity. 

For obvious reasons, ergot should never be given in natural 
and favorable cases of labour. It is strongly contraindicated, at 
all times, by earliness of the stage, rigidity of the soft parts, any 
unfavorable conformation, or any presentation which requires 
changing. It is admissible in lingering cases, after the head has 
reached the os externum, when it is ascertained that the delay 
arises from deficient uterine action, and not from mechanical ob- 
struction. It is also admissible in the case of children ascertain- 
ed to be dead, and in lingering cases of abortion. It is useful in 
cases of retained placenta; and, from its power of causing 
contraction of the uterus, it arrests flooding after delivery. In 
females habitually subject to profuse hemorrhage at this period, 
there is perhaps no better preventive than a full dose of ergot ad- 
ministered just before delivery. Its efficacy has been repeatedly 
attested. 

Spurred rye has been administered as an emmenagogue with 
various success. Its action on the unimpregnated uterus is much 
less than it displays in labour, yet the result of many trials has 
been, on the whole, in favour of its emmenagogue power. 

Exhibition. Ergot is commonly given in powder, boiled or 
infused in hot water. A drachm may be prepared in this way 
for a puerperal patient, and one quarter of the mixture, while 
turbid, given every twenty minutes till its effect becomes percep- 
tible. In amenorrhcea, ten or fifteen grains may be given three 
times a day, and increased, if nausea does not ensue. 



SENEGA. 

Seneca Snake Root. 

Origin. This article is the root of the Polygala senega, a 
plant growing wild in most latitudes of the United States, es- 
pecially in mountainous tracts. 
43 



334 SENEGA. 

Qualities. It has an unpleasant, and somewhat acid taste. 
After chewing, it leaves a sensation of acrimony in the mouth, 
and still more in the fauces, if it has been swallowed. These 
properties it communicates fully to boiling water. The process 
of decoction does not appear to dissipate any of its power, since 
the distilled water is destitute of the taste and smell of the plant. 
Alcohol dissolves a resinous substance, which is afterwards pre- 
cipitated by water. 

Uses. Senega is sudorific and expectorant in small doses, 
and emetic and cathartic in large ones. In the advanced stages 
of pulmonary inflammation, after venesection and blistering 
have been carried to their proper extent, and farther depletion is 
contraindicated, this medicine frequently assists in promoting 
the solution of the disease. It is injurious, however, from its 
stimulating properties, if given at too early a stage. Senega is 
commended in asthma, particularly that of middle-aged and 
elderly people, which approaches in character towards peripneu- 
monia notha. In croup it has also been celebrated, but can pro- 
perly be considered only as a secondary remedy. Incipient and 
slight cases of croup are often relieved by vomiting ; graver 
cases require copious bloodletting at an early stage ; and it would 
be injurious to delay these means for the sake of a remedy, the 
stimulating properties of which render its appropriateness at least 
questionable. In the late stages of croup, however, there is very 
respectable authority in support of its usefulness. Senega, if 
persevered with in as large doses as the stomach will bear, has in 
some instances dissipated dropsical swellings. In rheumatism 
it is a successful remedy, if given in doses sufficiently large to 
vomit and purge. It is likewise recommended in amenorrhcea, 
in full but not operative doses, persevered in for some time, par- 
ticularly at the expected return of the catamenia. 

Exhibition. The most common mode of exhibiting this 
medicine is that of the decoction ; which see. It is sometimes, 
also, given in substance, in doses of from one to two scruples. 



SENNA. 335 



SENNA. 
Senna. 

Origin. This useful drug is the dried leaves of one or more 
species of cassia, imported from Egypt, Arabia and India. The 
Alexandrian senna, which we are instructed by most books to 
consider as best, is the product of the Cassia senna of Linnseus, 
called C. lanceolata, by Lamarck. The India senna has a 
somewhat narrower leaf, but whether it be a variety of the above 
plant, or a co-species, I am not able to say. According to M. 
Nectoux,* the Alexandrian senna, which grows in upper Egypt, 
is adulterated at Boulac, the principal entrepot, with one or two 
other species of cassia, and also with the leaves of Cynanchum 
oleifolium, a very different plant, called by the Egyptians 
Jirguel. Dr. Calloden of Geneva states, that 500 parts of lance- 
leaved senna are mixed with 200 of obovate senna and 200 of 
Arguel. In the United States the greater part of the senna con- 
sumed is imported from the East Indies. The India senna is 
one of the most valuable kinds, and its freedom from adulteration 
entitles it, in one respect at least, to the preference. 

Qualities. The common India senna has an acute, lanceo- 
late leaf, and petioles, without glands, bearing from five to nine 
pairs of leaves. Alexandria senna has a shorter and more oval 
leaf, and is commonly mixed with a certain proportion of a dif- 
ferent leaf, which is thicker, firmer, and more nauseous and bit- 
ter. Senna has a faint, sickly odour, and a sweetish, bitter, disa- 
greeable taste. Boiling water dissolves about one third part of 
the weight of the leaves, and acquires a dark-brown colour. 
Alcohol also extracts the active properties of the drug. The 
active principle, according to Mr. Thomson, resides in a very 
oxydizable extractive resin, and a peculiar volatile matter. The 

* See Tilloch's Magazine, XV. 55. 3j See also American Medical 
Botany, II. 167. Note. 



336 SENNA. 

plant contains, also, mucus and some saline ingredients. The 
French chemists have separated from senna a peculiar substance, 
which they denominate cathartine, and which is said to purge in 
very small doses. It is uncrystallizable, of a reddish-yellow 
colour, bitter and nauseous, very soluble in water and alcohol, but 
insoluble in ether. 

Uses. Senna is a speedy and sure cathartic, deservedly held 
in high estimation. Dr. Fordyce, speaking of it, says, " As far as I 
can judge from experience, it is the most certain stimulus to the 
intestines in producing purging, of any substance which I have ever 
tried." In an irritable state of the stomach, when other medi- 
cines are rejected by vomiting, a persevering use of small doses 
of senna, repeated every half hour, often operates sooner and 
with less inconvenience than any other purgative. The property 
ascribed to senna, of occasioning griping by its operation, I have 
not observed to appear more frequently than in other resinous 
cathartics ; nor is it more difficult to obviate. 

FiXHiBiTiojsr. Senna is best administered in infusion. An 
ounce of the leaves saturates a pint of hot water, if macerated for 
an hour in a warm place. Longer maceration is supposed to 
occasion chemical changes in the senna, unfavorable to its saluta- 
ry operation. Of the infusion thus prepared, four fluidounces are a 
dose ; but in obstinate costiveness, half, or the whole pint may be 
given. When a tendency to vomiting exists, one or two spoon- 
fuls may be repeated every half hour, until an operation takes 
place. Senna is often combined with manna, to render it more 
palatable and effectual. The purgative salts form excellent ad- 
ditions, both to increase the ease and activity of its operation. 
"With a view to prevent griping, the infusion should be taken soon 
after it is made, and some aromatic substance combined with it. 
(See the different Infusions of senna.) The cathartic tinc- 
tures are serviceable adjuncts on this account. Senna is seldom 
given in decoction, or in substance, though two or three scruples 
of the powder will operate. 



SERPENTARIA. 337 



SERPENTARIA. 

Virginia Snake Root. 



' a 



Origin. The Jlristolochia serpentaria, which affords this 
root, is a native of the middle and southern parts of the United 
States, commonly growing in woods. It is a small plant, with 
an obscure, tubular, contorted flower, growing close to the ground. 

Qualities. The dried root consists of bundles of fibres 
matted together, having a penetrating, resinous and rather agree- 
able smell, and a pungent, bitter taste, somewhat resembling that 
of Pinus Canadensis, or hemlock spruce. It communicates its 
qualities to both water and alcohol, but most to the latter. On 
distillation, a white, pearly fluid collects in the receiver, very 
strongly impregnated with the aroma, but less bitter than the 
root. This fluid, on standing, deposits round the edges of its 
surface, small crystals of camphor. Serpentaria is also said «to 
contain a volatile oil and resin, and has probably a bitter extrac- 
tive matter. 

Uses. Serpentaria is a tonic and diaphoretic, and in certain 
cases an antispasmodic and anodyne. It is employed with ad- 
vantage in the low stages of fevers to support the strength and 
allay irregular actions. It is injurious if too early employed. In 
many cases it proves a very useful auxiliary to Peruvian bark, 
and, even in intermittents, has been thought to enhance its effica- 
cy. Snake root is a popular remedy in exanthematous disor- 
ders, being given to keep out the eruption, and to restore it when 
it has receded. It is, however, too stimulating to be used with 
propriety, and in many cases rather aggravates than relieves the 
disease. 

Exhibition. This root is most advantageously given in the 
infusion ; which see. Decoction is a less proper form, as it 
dissipates the volatile parts of the medicine, much of which the 
infusion retains in a state of mixture. Sometimes the powder is 
given in doses of from ten to thirty grains. 



338 SESAMI OLEUM.— SEVUM.— SIMAROUBA. 



SESAMI OLEUM. 

Benne Oil. 

The Sesamun orientale is cultivated in Asia, Africa, and 
the West Indies, principally on account of its oil. Its seeds 
were used by the ancient Egyptians for food, and are still em- 
ployed by the negroes and Asiatics for this purpose. The plant 
is now cultivated in the southern parts of the United States. 
The seeds afford a copious quantity of oil, amounting, according 
to some authors, to one quarter, and, according to others, to nearly 
one half of their weight. This oil is bland, sweet, and is said to 
keep for some years without turning rancid. It is applicable to 
the same purposes as olive oil, and, in sufficient dose, proves pur- 
gative on the same principle as other animal and vegetable fixed 
oils. See Jldeps, &c. 



SEVUM. 

Suet. 

The fat of ruminating animals has a solid, brittle consistence 
at common temperatures, and is somewhat less fusible than that 
of other quadrupeds. It has received the names of suet and 
tallow. Except in the above qualities, it resembles lard in its 
general character. It is used in pharmacy to give consistence to 
ointments and plasters, mutton suet being preferred to the other 
kinds. 



SIMAROUBA. 

Simarouba. 

Simarouba is the bark of the root of a species of Quassia, called 
in Jamaica mountain damson. The wood of this tree is inert. 



SINAPIS. 339 

Simarouba bark is a pure and not disagreeable bitter. It comes 
in pieces of a fibrous texture, rough, scaly and warty, with a 
yellowish inside. Cold water and alcohol take up all its active 
matter by maceration. According to M. Morin, simarouba con- 
tains a resinous matter; a volatile oil; malic acid, and traces of 
gallic; quassin, and a variety of salts; together with ulmin 
and ligneous matter. 

This bark is tonic, and has been employed in intermittent 
fever, in dyspepsia, and in chronic diarrhoea, and the secondary 
stage of dysentery. A scruple or two may be given in powder ; 
but a more useful form is an infusion, resembling that of quassia 
in its strength and dose. Cold water may be used in its 
preparation. 



SINAPIS. 

Mustard. 

Origin. Common mustard, though a foreign plant, is natu- 
ralized, and grows plentifully in cultivated grounds in the United 
States. The seeds, reduced to powder, and mixed with water, 
are a well-known condiment with food. 

Qualities. The seeds, when bruised, have a pungent odour 
and a strong, biting taste. The acrimony is communicated to 
water more than to alcohol, and rises in distillation. The con- 
stituents, according to Thomson and Paris, are feecula, mucus, 
a bland fixed oil, an acrid volatile oil, on which the properties 
depend, sulphur, and an ammoniacal salt. — Query. Is not the 
fisecula albumen? and, if the acrid principle be a volatile oil, how 
is it more communicable to water than to alcohol ? 

Uses. Mustard is stimulant and diuretic, and, in large doses, 
emetic. Its principal use, however, is as a rubefacient, externally 
applied. 

Exhibition. Mustard should always be employed in powder, 
3ince the whole seeds do not readily give out their virtues. A 
large teaspoonful is said to operate as an emetic, smaller doses 



340 SOD.E SUBCARBONAS. 

as a diuretic. Mustard poultices, or sinapisms, should be form- 
ed by preparing a cataplasm of meal and vinegar, which, when 
spread for application, should be covered, on its surface only, 
with powdered mustard, This prevents waste, and secures the 
whole rubefacient action of the mustard. 



SODiE SUBCARBONAS. 

Subcarbonate of Soda. 

Origin. Subcarbonate of soda is found native in Egypt and 
some other countries, where it is known by the name of natron ; 
but it is most frequently procured from maritime plants by 
incineration and lixiviation ; as subcarbonate of potass is procur- 
ed from other vegetables. The ashes of common sea-weed, 
known in commerce by the name of kelp, furnish a small percent- 
age of this substance. But the principal supply is obtained from 
the Salsola soda, a plant of the salt marshes in the south of 
Europe, which, in Spain and some other countries, is cultivated 
for the purpose. This plant is pulled up when the seed is ripe, 
and, after drying, is burnt in furnaces, the heat of which is just 
sufficient to cause the ashes to enter into a state of semifusion, 
and to concrete into cellular masses, which form the barilla of 
commerce. 

Pure subcarbonate of soda is obtained from the barilla above 
mentioned by bruising it, and boiling it in water until all the 
saline matter is dissolved. The solution is then filtered and 
evaporated in iron vessels so far that, upon cooling, crystals may 
form. As barilla contains not only subcarbonate of soda, but 
likewise sulphate and muriate of soda, charcoal, lime, magnesia, 
clay and silex ; these processes are necessary for obtaining the 
pure salt. The earths being insoluble, are separated by the so- 
lution and filtration, while the foreign salts remain dissolved in 
the residuary liquor, after the subcarbonate of soda has crys- 
tallized. 



SODJE SUBCARBONAS EXSICCATUS. 341 

Pure subcarbonate of soda is also manufactured in large 
quantities by decomposing the sulphate of soda, and the muriate 
of soda. In a process of Scheele, muriate of soda is decomposed 
by red oxide of lead, or litharge, a subcarbonate of soda and mu- 
riate of lead being obtained But more frequently the sulphate 
of soda is decomposed to produce this salt, either by charcoal, or 
by common subcarbonate of potass. 

Qualities. Pure subcarbonate of soda has a mild, alkaline 
taste, and changes vegetable blues to green. It crystallizes in 
octohedrons, truncated at the summits of the pyramids ; it efflor- 
esces when exposed to the air, and undergoes watery fusion at 
150° Fahrenheit It is soluble in two parts of water at 60°, and 
in less than its weight of boiling water. 

Uses. The most important use of this salt is as an alkaline 
remedy, employed in dyspepsia and acidity of the stomach. It 
is more convenient than the subcarbonate of potass, being less 
acrid to the taste, and more easy to preserve for occasional use 
in consequence of its not being deliquescent. It is applicable to 
the same calculous affections, for which magnesia and potass are 
resorted to. 

Exhibition. From ten grains to a drachm constitute a dose; 
but the next following preparation affords a more convenient 
form for the same medicine. 



SOD^E SUBCARBONAS EXSICCATUS. 

Dried Subcarbonate of Soda, 

Subcarbonate of soda, deprived of its water of crystallization 
by drying, becomes more active in an equal weight, without 
otherwise changing its properties. In this state, it may be made 
into pills ; whereas pills of the crystallized subcarbonate fall to 
pieces as soon as the salt effloresces. In dyspeptic cases it is 
usefully combined with bitter and tonic powders. Dose, from 
ten to twenty-five grains, three times a day. 
44 



342 SODJ: CARBONAS.— SODM SUBBORAS. 



SODJ3 CARBONAS. 

Carbonate of Soda. 

Preparation. See Pharmacopoeia, p. 198. According to the 
views of Dr. Wollaston, this salt is a bi-carbonate, the preceding 
being a carbonate. Both, however, are alkaline, the carbonate 
of the present article being hardly neutralized with acid. The 
formula of the American Pharmacopoeia is the same as that of 
the London College, in which Mr. Phillips thinks the proportion 
of subcarbonate of ammonia employed somewhat too large. The 
Edinburgh College direct this article to be made by passing 
carbonic acid gas through a solution of subcarbonate of soda, till 
it ceases to be absorbed. 

Qualities. It forms an irregular, saline mass, which, accord- 
ing to Dr. Ure, is not crystallized. The taste is somewhat more 
mild than that of the subcarbonate. 

Uses. It is applicable to the same purposes as the subcar- 
bonate of soda and carbonate of potass. 



SOD^ SUBBORAS. 

Subborate of Soda. Called Borax. 

Origin. Borax is a natural salt found in Persia and Thibet, 
where it is collected in an impure state about the borders of cer- 
tain lakes. It is purified by calcination, solution and crystalli- 
zation. 

Qualities. Its crystals are irregular, hexaedral prisms, slight- 
ly efflorescent, with a cool, styptic, alkalescent taste. It is 
soluble in twenty parts of cold water, and in six of boiling water. 

Uses. Borax is seldom used internally, but is employed as an 
astringent topical remedy, mixed in powder with eight or 



SODE, MURIAS. 343 

ten parts of honey, in cases of aphthae and ulcerated sore 
throat. 



SOD^ MURIAS. 

Muriate of Soda. Called Sea Salt. 

Origin. Common sea salt, which, according to the views of 
Sir H. Davy, is a chloride of sodium, is one of the most abundant 
productions in nature. Besides its well-known presence in the 
waters of the ocean, it impregnates mineral springs and lakes, 
and is found in vast solid strata under the surface of the ground. 
It is commonly in a state of mixture with various other sub- 
stances, and requires to undergo different processes of purifica- 
tion, before it constitutes the article of commerce. 

Sea water contains aboul one twenty-fourth part of muriate of 
soda. Within the tropics it is somewhat stronger. Salt springs 
frequently contain a much greater quantity, and in some instan- 
ces have been found nearly saturated. Salt is obtained from 
these waters by evaporation and crystallization. Where fuel is 
plenty, the evaporation is often couducted by boiling, but on the 
sea shore it is more frequently a spontaneous process. At the 
salt works in Massachusetts, which have now become very ex- 
tensive, the sea water is pumped up by windmills into large 
wooden vats, where it is left to evaporate by the sun's heat, the 
vats being covered in rainy weather by moveable roofs. After 
the crystals are deposited, they are raked out from the bottoms of 
the vats and dried. In warm and dry climates, the evaporation 
is frequently carried on in artificial ponds. Muriate of soda ob- 
tained by evaporation, is seldom pure, but commonly mixed with 
earthy and deliquescent salts, which dispose it to attract moist- 
ure from the atmosphere An expensive mode of purifying it has 
been adopted in Scotland, by washing it with a hot, saturated so- 
lution of muriate of soda, which dissolves the foreign salts, but 
produces no effect on the salt to be purified. 



344 SODiE SULPHAS. 

Qualities. Muriate of soda has a strictly salt taste, which, in 
a certain degree, is universally agreeable to men and animals. 
It crystallizes in regular cubes, and, when pure, is free from bit- 
terness, and does not deliquesce in the air. It is almost equally 
soluble in hot and cold water, requiring less than three parts of 
either for its solution. By the action of heat it first decrepitates ; 
then melts; and lastly, if the heat be intense, sublimes without 
decomposition. It is decomposed by the sulphuric and nitric 
acids, and by potass and baryta. According to Kirwan, it con- 
tains muriatic acid 38.88 — soda 53 — water 8.12. By Davy's 
fheory, the dried salt contains about 22 of sodium and 33.5 
of chlorine. 

Uses. Common salt is tonic and antiseptic. In small quan- 
tities it promotes appetite and digestion, and in larger ones is 
purgative. It has also some reputation as an anthelminthic, par- 
ticularly when given in the form of an enema for ascarides, in 
which case it forms one of the most effectual palliatives known. 
It is preferred to all other agents as a preservative for animal 
matter from decomposition. 



SOD^ MURIAS EXSICCATUS. 

Dried Muriate of Soda. 

This substance is used in making oxymuriate of mercury, and 
muriate of antimony. It is also employed by the distillers of 
muriatic acid. 



SODJE SULPHAS. 

Sulphate of Soda. Called Glauber's Salt. 

Origin. Sulphate of soda is made in Europe from the saline 
residuum, which remains after several chemical processes, particu- 



SOT>M PHOSPHAS. 345 

larly after the distillation of muriatic acid from muriate of soda 
and sulphuric acid. In this country, large quantities are made at 
marine salt works from the bitter water, which remains after the 
crystallization of sea salt. 

Qualities. Sulphate of soda crystallizes in long, six-sided 
prisms, with dihedral summits, the sides of which are grooved. 
The taste is salt and bitter. Exposed to the air it effloresces 
rapidly, and soon falls to powder. It is very soluble in water, 
requiring less than three times its weight of cold water, and only 
eight tenths of its weight of boiling water. When heated it un- 
dergoes watery fusion, and at a strong heat is partly decomposed. 
It contains, according to Berzelius,of acid 24.64 — alkali 19.36— 
water 56. 

Uses. Sulphate of soda is one of the most common and useful 
of the saline cathartics. In common with the other neutral salts 
used as purgatives, it evacuates the bowels speedily, effectually, 
and without heat, pain or inconvenience. The satisfactory op- 
eration of these salts might cause them to supersede many of the 
stronger cathartics, were it not for the quantity requisite for a 
dose, and the disagreeable taste which they all possess. 

Exhibition. An ounce is a medium dose. If the salt has 
fallen to powder by efflorescence, it is twice as strong in the 
same weight, and only half the quantity is necessary for a dose. 
It is more conveniently taken if dissolved in as little water as 
possible, but operates better if dissolved in a good deal. Brandy, 
previously held in the mouth, will prevent the taste of the salt. 



SODiE PHOSPHAS. 

Phosphate of Soda. 

Qualities. It crystallizes in large, regular, transparent, 
rhomboidal prisms, with a simply saline taste. It is somewhat 
efflorescent, and dissolves in three parts of cold and one and a 
half of hot water. It may be fused into an opaque, white glass. 



346 SOLIDAGO.— SPERMACETI. 

Uses. These are the same as those of the sulphate of soda. 

Exhibition. An ounce is an operative dose. It was introduced 
into practice by Dr. George Pearson of London as a pleasant sub- 
stitute for the other neutral salts, its taste being less disagreeable ; 
so that it may be taken in broth or gruel in sufficient quantities 
to operate, without becoming unpleasant. In this way it is taken 
by children, in a dose proportionate to their age. 



SOLIDAGO. 

Golden Rod. 

The American sweet-scented golden rod has an extremely 
pleasant odour and taste, resembling that of anise, and residing 
in a volatile oil. This oil, on which the chief medicinal effects of 
the plant depend, is stimulant, carminative and diaphoretic. 
Water extracts the efficacy of this plant less perfectly than 
spirit ; yet an infusion is a popular diaphoretic in many parts of 
the country where the plant grows. The tincture is a fine aro- 
matic. 



SPERMACETI. 

Spermaceti. 

Origin. The head of the Physeter macrocephalus, or sper- 
maceti whale, contains a spongy, oily mass, which, when purified 
by draining it from oil, pressing, melting and washing, forms the 
spermaceti of commerce. 

Qualities. Purified spermaceti is a peculiar substance, in- 
termediate between tallow and wax. It is white, crystallized, 
friable, semitransparent, unctuous and nearly insipid. It melts 
at 112°. It is soluble in hot alcohol, ether, and oil of turpentine ; 
but concretes again as the fluids cool. It is completely soluble 



SPIGELIA. 347 

in fixed oils. When rancid from long exposure to the air, it may 
be purified by washing it with a warm ley of potash. 

Uses. It is emollient and demulcent. It is sometimes em- 
ployed with the latter view in dysentery and catarrh ; but its 
principal use is in the formation of ointments. 



SPIGELIA. 

Carolina Pink, 

Origin. This is a native plant, found in all the southern 
parts of the United States. Though the root is most powerful, 
yet the whole plant is sold in our shops. 

Qualities. Carolina pink is a very mild, mucilaginous plant, 
imparting its virtues fully to water. Its sensible properties are 
not such as to indicate great activity. 

Uses. The medical reputation of this plant is founded on the 
powers, which it is supposed to possess as a vermifuge. This re- 
putation is now so generally established, that the plant has be- 
come an article of commerce to various parts of the world from 
our southern states. This is a sufficient evidence that the medi- 
cine has, to a certain extent, satisfied public expectation, and 
obtained the sanction of practitioners. But there are few classes 
of medicines more uncertain than specific antihelminthics. They 
are frequently prescribed without positive proof of the existence 
of the cause they are intended to remove ; they often fail altogeth- 
er in the hands of the best practitioners ; they frequently succeed 
merely because they are backed by active cathartics ; and some- 
times, as in fever and dysentery, the expulsion of worms is the 
consequence solely of a diseased state of body. The spigelia is 
considered more active in its newly dried state, than after it is 
six months old. Good spigelia produces slight narcotic effects, 
in a full dose. 

Exhibition. Of the powder, ten grains may be given at once 
to a child four years old, and a drachm to an adult. But the 
most common form of administration is the infusion ; which see. 



348 SPIRJEA.— SPIRITUS. 



SPIRAEA. 



Hardhack. 



The Spirma tomentosa is a common, native shrub, abounding 
particularly in the northern states. Its root and leaves are 
highly astringent, and contain tannin in abundance. They have 
been advantageously used in various discharges from debility, 
and particularly in hemorrhage from the bowels. 



SPIRITUS. 

Spirits. 

The preparations denominated Spirits in the American Phar- 
macopoeia are solutions of the volatile parts of vegetables in 
alcohol or spirit, obtained by distilling the menstruum oft' of the 
vegetable substance. 

Spiritus Juniperi compositus. Compound Spirit of Juni- 
per. — The product here of the distillation is diluted alcohol im- 
pregnated with several volatile oils. It is added to other diure- 
tics in dropsy, in the dose of about a fluidounce ; but is too 
stimulating for all cases. 

Spiritus Lavandula. Spirit of Lavender. — This is vul- 
garly known by the name of white lavender, in distinction 
from red lavender, which is the tincture. It is chiefly used as 
a perfume, but is occasionally taken as a cordial, in doses of 
one or two fluidrachms. 

Spiritus Rorismarini. Spirit of Rosemary. — This resem- 
bles the last article in its properties and application. Both are 



SPONGIA.— SPONGIA USTA.— STANNUM. 349 

transparent, alcoholic solutions of the volatile oil of the plants 
from which they are prepared. 



SPONGIA. 

Sponge. 

Common sponge is a zoophyte found in the Mediterranean and 
Red Seas, attached to the rocks at the bottom. Its chemical 
constituents, according to Mr. Hatchett, are gelatin, albumen, 
and small portions of muriate of soda and carbonate of lime. It 
is useful in surgery, but is not employed in medicine, except in 
the following preparation. 



SPONGIA USTA, 

Burnt Sponge. 

This probably has no activity beyond that of the subcarbonate 
of soda, and charcoal, which it contains. It is however believed 
by some to possess peculiar efficacy in bronchocele, scrofula and 
herpes. Dose, from one to three drachms, in honey. 



STANNUM, 

Tin. 

Tin is a rare metal, in regard to the extent of its distributions 

though it exists abundantly in certain localities, particularly at 

Cornwall in England. It is found, in its metallic state, united with 

sulphur and copper ; also oxidized, in combination with oxide of 

45 



350 PULVIS STANNI.— STATICE. 

iron and silex. Tin is less white than silver, and is brighter and 
harder than lead. It bends easily, with a peculiar, crackling 
noise. Its specific gravity is 7.29 ; its fusing point about 442° 
Fahrenheit. By exposure to the atmosphere it becomes tarnish- 
ed, but is hardly oxidized at any low temperature. 



PULVIS STANNI. 

Powder of Tin. 

This powder is used as an anthelmintic in taenia ; and I have 
known cases of its successful operation. It is commonly 
supposed to act mechanically ; but it has been suggested, that 
the hydrogen gas generated in the alimentary canal may be the 
cause of its efficacy. Dose, a drachm or two in treacle, for three 
successive mornings; to be followed by a strong cathartic. 
Dr. Alston directs an ounce for the first dose. 



PULVIS STANNI AMALGAMATIS. 

Powder of the Jlmalgam of Tin. 

The amalgam of tin is considered an active anthelminthic in 
cases of lumbrici. It is not apt to salivate, and may be given, in 
doses of a scruple, for a considerable time, in any convenient 
vehicle. Pharmacopoeia, p. 204. 



STATICE. 

Marsh Rosemary. 

The Statice Caroliniana, which closely resembles the 8. limo- 
nium of Europe, grows plentifully on salt marshes throughout the 



STRAMONIUM. 351 

United States. The root is intensely astringent to the taste, 
and abounds in tannin and gallic acid. 

Uses. Large quantities are sold in the druggists' shops, the 
root being a popular remedy in aphthse and ulcerative sore 
throats. Its astringent and antiseptic properties render it pecu- 
liarly suitable as a topical application in these complaints. It is 
no doubt entitled to rank in point of strength with any of the im- 
ported vegetable astringents. It may be employed in infusion 
or decoctio«. 



STRAMONIUM. 

Tfiorn Apple. 

Origin. The Datura stramonium, called in some places 
Apple of Peru, and Jamestown weed, grows wild in most parts of 
the United States, and also iii Europe. It has two varieties — the 
purple-flowering, and the white, which are equally efficacious in 
medicine. 

Qualities. The whole plant has a heavy, disagreeable odour, 
and a nauseous taste. Water and alcohol dissolve its active con- 
stituents, which appear to be of the extractive kind. Water dis- 
tilled from the plant retains the sensible qualities in a slight 
degree, but does not seem to possess much of the medicinal 
powers. A vegetable alkali, Baturia, has been obtained from 
the seeds of this plant, in which it exists combined with malic 
acid. It is nearly insoluble in water and cold alcohol, but is so- 
luble in hot alcohol, from which it precipitates, on cooling, in 
flocculi. It crystallizes with difficulty in quadrangular needles, 
and neutralizes acids, if added to them in large quantity, forming 
salts. 

Uses, Stramonium is a powerful narcotic, capable of acting 
in small quantities as an anodyne and antispasmodic ; and in 
large ones as a poison. When swallowed, it produces nausea 
and dizziness, even in small doses; but if the quantity be large, 
it brings on great prostration of strength, loss of muscular power. 



352 STRAMONIUM. 

insensibility of the retina, occasioning dilated pupil, tremors, 
head-ache, delirium ; and sometimes convulsions, coma and death. 
If not fatal, the effects wear off in a day or two. Patients should 
be treated in the same way as if poisoned by opium. 

In various diseases of the chronic kind, stramonium has been 
resorted to with advantage. It has been found serviceable in 
those kinds of epilepsy, in which the fits give warning of their 
approach, or occur at regular intervals. In tic douloureux it has 
afforded decided relief. Dr. Marcet of London states, as the re- 
sult of his experience, that this medicine has done more to lessen 
the violent pain of several chronic diseases than any other narcotic 
substance. The effects in these cases were, to lessen, powerfully 
and almost immediately, sensibility and pain ; to occasion a sort 
of nervous shock, frequently attended with a momentary affec- 
tion of the head and eyes ; to excite some nausea, and phenomena 
like those of intoxication ; to produce sometimes in the throat a 
sense like suffocation ; to relax rather than constipate the bowels ; 
and to exert little soporific effect, excepting that produced by the 
succession of ease after pain. He employed it in sciatica, in tic 
douloureux, in cancer, &c. It was most effectual in sciatica 
combined with syphilis. 

The leaves of stramonium, used by smoking, in the same way 
as tobacco, have been found of great use in the paroxysms of 
spasmodic asthma. It is less effectual in the asthma of plethoric 
or intemperate people, or where the disease is symptomatic, de- 
pending on causes in the stomach and bowels, which require to 
be removed. It is used during the paroxysm only, and has no 
prophylactic power. 

Exhibition. The powdered leaves are sometimes given in 
doses of a grain ; but the extract is to be preferred; which see. 
If the commencing dose excites no nausea nor vertigo, we may 
repeat the medicine three times a day, gradually increasing the 
quantity, till these effects are felt by the patient, or relief of the 
disease is obtained. For external use, the fresh leaves, bruised, 
form an excellent anodyne application in painful tumors. The 
ointment is also much esteemed. See Unguentum stramonii. 



SUCCINUM.— SULPHUR. 353 

Stramonii Semina. Thorn Apple Seeds. — The seeds of 
thorn apple are considered more powerful than the rest of the 
plant, and may be given in half or two thirds of the dose. 



SUCCINUM. 

Amber, 

Amber is apparently a substance of vegetable origin, which is 
cast ashore in lumps from the sea, principally in the Baltic. It 
is also dug out of the earth near the sea coast. 

Qualities. It is hard, brittle, light and transparent, some- 
times colourless, but commonly yellow or brown. It is also 
electric. When heated it emits a fragrant odour, but is inodor- 
ous and insipid when cold. The specific gravity is 1.065. It 
softens when heated, and burns out in a high temperature with 
little residuum. It is slightly soluble in water, but alcohol takes 
up one eighth part. Its principal constituents appear to be resin, 
an empyreumatic oil, and a peculiar acid, called the succinic. 

Uses. At the present day it is not considered medicinal, but 
is retained to afford the Oil of amber, and Oxidated oil of amber. 



SULPHUR. 

Sztlphur. 

Origin. Sulphur is found native in the vicinity of volcanoes ; 
also imbedded in strata of limestone and gypsum, and forming 
veins in primitive rocks. It also forms a part of various mine- 
rals, and is often obtained from pyrites, or sulphurets of iron and 
copper. It is separated by roasting these ores, and collecting 
the sulphur which sublimes. This is afterwards cast into 
moulds, and forms the roll sulphur and loaf sulphur of com- 



354 SULPHUR. 

merce. The sulphur of Sicily is considered as most pure, that 
obtained in England having frequently a fifteenth part of orpi- 
ment, or sulphuret of arsenic. For medical purposes the sub- 
limed sulphur only is to be used, which is prepared by heating 
in a sand bath an earthen cucurbit charged with roll sulphur, 
and collecting the vapours in aludels placed round it, where 
they concrete. 

Qualities, Sulphur is ranked among simple elementary 
substances, though it has been conjectured to be a triple com- 
pound of oxygen, hydrogen and some unknown base.* Sublimed 
sulphur is a bright yellow powder, which, when microscopically 
examined, appears of a crystalline texture, It contains a small 
portion of acid, from which it is separated by washing with water. 
Sulphur is volatilized by a heat exceeding 180° Fahrenheit, 
giving out a peculiar, unpleasant odour. At 220°, it melts ;t 
at 320°, in close vessels, it becomes thick and viscid, and the 
temperature augments to 550°. In the open air it inflames at 
300°, and burns with a pale-blue flame, emitting acid, suffo- 
cating vapours. It is insoluble in water, slightly soluble in 
alcohol and ether, and readily soluble in oils. It unites with 
oxygen, forming acids; and with alkalies, earths and metals, 
forming sulphurets. 

Uses. Sulphur is a mild and useful cathartic, possessing also 
diaphoretic powers. It is particularly prized in hemorrhoidal 
affections, in which it obviates costiveness without aggravating 
the disease, as more stimulating purgatives are liable to do. As 
a diaphoretic and stimulant, it is employed in chronic rheuma- 
tism, catarrh and asthma. In the cutaneous diseases of chil- 
dren, it is a common and popular remedy. It is in many cases an 
effectual vermifuge. Sulphur, when taken internally, transpires 
through the pores, apparently in the state of sulphuretted hydro- 
gen, so as to blacken silver in the pockets of those who take it. 
Externally applied, it cures psora, and some other cutaneous 
diseases. 

* Davy, Philosophical Transactions, 1809. This opinion is now con- 
sidered doubtful. 

t Ure. 



SULPHURETUM POTASSj:. 355 

Exhibition. From one to three drachms may be given mixed 
with treacle, syrup or milk. In hemorrhoids, it is often combined 
with magnesia ; and in cutaneous diseases, with supertartrate of 
potass. Externally the ointment is used ; which see. Bathing 
in sulphureous mineral waters is often found superior to other 
modes of applying sulphur, in diseases of the skin. 



SULPHURETUM POTASS^. 

Sulphuret of Potass. 

Preparation. See Pharmacopceia, p. 206. In preparing this 
article, the heat should be gradually and cautiously applied, lest 
the sudden disengagement of the carbonic acid should throw the 
melted matter out of the crucible. Mr. Thomson thinks that in 
order to render the combination complete, the subcarbonate of 
potass should first be prepared by exposing it in a crucible to a 
red heat, so that its water and some of its carbonic acid may be 
driven off. This substance was formerly known by the name of 
Hepar sulphur is, or liver of sulphur. 

Qualities. When well prepared, it is inodorous while dry, 
but if moistened or dissolved in water, a partial decomposition, 
both of the water and the sulphuret, is effected, and it emits the 
fetid odour of sulphuretted hydrogen. It has an acrid, bitter 
taste ; turns vegetable blues to green ; is hard, brittle with a glassy 
fracture ; has a dark liver colour, and stains the skin. By solu- 
tion in water, or exposure till it attracts moisture from the air, it 
is changed into an hydroguretted sulphuret of potass, with a 
small portion of sulphate of potass. 

Uses. It presents a form of sulphur, which is soluble in water, 
and which has been found efficacious in psora and other cutaneous 
affections, both externally and internally applied. It has had 
also a share of reputation in rheumatism and gout. It is hypo- 
thetically recommended as an antidote for metallic poisons, on 
account of the facility with which it decomposes those substances 



356 SYRUPI. 



out of the body. I am informed on respectable authority, that 
hooping cough is abridged by its use. 

Exhibition. From three to ten grains may be taken at a 
dose, made into pills with soap. 



SULPHURETUM SGDJE. 

Sulphur et of Soda. 

This article resembles the preceding in most of its character- 
istics and uses. 



SYRUPL 

Syrups. 

Syrups are liquid preparations, in which sugar is dissolved. 
They will keep for a considerable time unaltered, provided the 
weight of sugar dissolved is about twice that of the fluid. If 
syrups are made too thin, they are apt to ferment ; if too thick, 
the sugar is liable to crystallize. They should be kept in cellars 
or cool situations. 

Syrupus Aceti. Syrup of Vinegar. — This is chiefly used 
to give flavour to other medicines. It is very liable to decom- 
position. 

Syrupus Allii. Syrup of Garlic. — This is diuretic and 
expectorant in diseases of the pulmonary mucous membrane. 
Dose, two or three fluidrachms. 

Syrupus Aurantii Corticis. Syrup of Orange Peel.-— 
This syrup is a pleasant vehicle for other medicines. As the 
volatile oil resides in little vesicles on the outer surface of the 



SYRUPI. 357 

rind, the strength "of the syrup is much promoted by the division 
of these vesicles in the manner directed. 

Syrupus Colchici. Syrup of Meadow Saffron. — This 
syrup has formerly been in repute, particularly as a diuretic ; 
but of late it is nearly superseded by more active forms of ex- 
hibiting the medicine. Dose, a drachm or two. 

Syrupus Rhamni. Syrup of Buckthorn. — This is a heating 
cathartic, attended in its operation with thirst and griping. It is 
not often imported from England, and its place is frequently 
supplied in this country by a syrup bearing the same name, but 
made from the berries of different species of Cratcegus. The 
dose of Syrup of buckthorn is about a fluidounce for adults, and 
a fluidrachm for young children. 

Syrupus Rhei. Syrup of Rhubarb. — This contains the pro- 
perties of rhubarb, which are soluble in water, and may be given 
to children in a dose of one or two fluidrachms. 

Syrupus Rhei aromaticus. Aromatic Syrup of Rhubarb. 
— This appears to be a warm stomachic and purgative, of which 
the dose may be about a fluidounce. 

Syrupus Rhei cum Senna. Syrup of Rhubarb ivith 
Senna. — This syrup is suited for children, about a fluidrachm 
being taken for a dose. It is probable that the activity of the 
senna may be somewhat impaired by the evaporation. 

Syrupus Sarsaparilla. Syrup of Sarsaparilla. — This is 
a decoction of sarsaparilla with various other ingredients, appar- 
ently adapted for keeping by the addition of sugar and honey. 
It seems calculated for syphilitic rheumatism, &c. in doses of 
half a pint. See the next article. 

Syrupus Sarsaparilla et Guaiaci. Syrup of Sarsaparilla 
and Guaiacum, This seems adapted to the same purposes as the 
46 



358 TABACUM. 

foregoing, but is more stimulating. It must be confessed, how- 
ever, that it is somewhat difficult to take enough of so bulky a 
preparation to experience benefit from its medicinal contents, 
without, at the same time, overloading the stomach with honey 
and sugar. The directions given for this and the preceding ar- 
ticle are not sufficiently precise. 

Syrupus Scill^. Syrup of Squill. — This preparation, be- 
ing made without heat, is more certain and uniform in its 
strength than the acetated honey of squill. The dose, as an 
expectorant in catarrh, is about a fluidrachm. This quantity 
commonly vomits young children. 

Syrupus Senegje. Syrup of Seneca Snake Hoot,— This 
syrup is made from a very strong decoction of senega, and may 
be taken in doses of one or two fluidrachms. The quantity of 
root used is apparently greater than the water requires. 

Syrupus simplex. Simple Syrup.— Used as an extempora- 
neous ingredient for sweetening liquids, and as a uniting medium 
for pills. 

Syrupus Tolutani. Syrup of Tolu. — This syrup is very 
pleasant to the taste, and is a popular ingredient in expectorant 
mixtures. 

Syrupus Zingiberis. Syrup of Ginger. — This article con- 
tains the properties of ginger, but is not much used, except as an 
adjunct to other medicines. 



TABACUM. 

Tobacco, 

Origin. Tobacco was cultivated by the Indians at the time 
of the discovery of America, and is now raised in great quanti- 



TAfcACUM. 359 

ties in the southern parts of the United States. The plant is 
annual, and succeeds well in any part of our country, though 
tobacco raised in warm climates is generally better than that 
which grows far north. For medical use the dried leaves of the 
common Virginia tobacco should be preferred. 

Qualities. Tobacco has a well-known, strong, and to most 
persons not disagreeable odour. Its taste is bitter and acrid. 
By the analysis of Vauquelin, it contains, 1. — >A large quantity 
of albuminous matter. 2. — Malate of lime. 3. — Acetic acid. 
4. — Nitrate and muriate of potass. 5. — A red matter, soluble in 
alcohol and water, which swells and boils in the fire. 6. — Muri- 
ate of ammonia. 7. — A peculiar, acrid, volatile, colourless sub- 
stance, soluble in water and alcohol, which gives to prepared 
tobacco its peculiar character, and has not been found in any 
other plant. The medicinal activity of tobacco resides in this 
volatile part ; water, alcohol and wine, are therefore adequate 
solvents for the medicine. Long boiling dissipates its activity, so 
that the decoction and extract are weak preparations ; while the 
empyreumatic or volatile oil is one of the most deadly poisons 
known. 

Uses. Tobacco is used as a luxury and prophylactic, and as 
a medicine. In the former cases it is not taken internally, but 
only kept in contact with absorbing surfaces, the substance or the 
smoke being applied to the mucous lining of the mouth and 
nares. There is no reason for believing that the moderate use 
of tobacco shortens life ; but its abuse is highly injurious, notonly* 
wasting the saliva beyond what can be spared from the purposes 
of digestion, but bringing on a state of body like that which fol- 
lows intemperance in other narcotics. In medicine, tobacco is 
swallowed in small quantities for the relief of diseases. In sufii- 
cient dose, it always produces nausea and vertigo, and, if the 
amount taken be large, it is followed by dangerous symptoms, 
like those from other narcotics. The volatile, or empyreumatic 
oil, was found by Mr. Brodie to destroy the life of cats and other 
animals in the small quantity of two drops, and even of one, almost 
instantly, either by applying it to the tongue, or injecting it into 
the rectum. Tobacco has been found an active diuretic in 



360 TAMARINDUS. 

dropsy, and a palliative in dysury, by Drs. Fowler and Ferriar. 
Its mode of operation is probably analogous to that of digitalis. 
The tobacco enema, formed by infusing half a drachm of tobacco 
in half a pint of hot water, is used to facilitate the reduction of 
strangulated hernia, which end it promotes by its relaxing and 
prostrating effect, and by its cathartic operation. The use of this 
injection requires caution, as several lives have been destroyed 
by too strong an infusion incautiously thrown into the rectum. 
Tobacco smoke, used as an injection, is very powerful, owing to 
the activity of the volatile part of the medicine, and the extent 
to which this vapour may penetrate the intestines. It has been 
used with success in the cure of locked jaw in the West Indies, 
but it occasions great distress to the patient. The practice of 
attempting to resuscitate drowned persons by injections of tobac- 
co smoke, is undoubtedly useless and pernicious. A cataplasm 
of tobacco, applied to the stomach, or under the axilla, occasions 
giddiness and vomiting, and has been recommended to promote 
the operation of emetics in difficult cases ; but other means are 
preferable. 

Exhibition. In dropsical cases, a grain in a pill will be borne 
by most patients three times a day, and may be slowly increased, 
if nausea do not occur. But the more common forms of exhibi- 
tion may be seen under the Wine of tobacco, the Infusion, and 
the Liniment. 



TAMARINDUS. 

Tamarind. 

The tamarind tree of the East and West Indies contains in 
its pods an acid pulp, by which the seeds are imbedded. The 
pods are preserved for exportation by placing them in layers in 
a cask, and pouring boiling syrup over each layer until the cask 
is filled. According to Vauquelin, the pulp contains gum, jelly, 
a feculent matter, supertartrate of potass ; and citric, tartaric 



TANACETUM.— TAPIOCA. . 361 

and malic acids. The sour taste is principally dependant on the 
citric acid, which is the most abundant. Tamarinds are refrige- 
rant and laxative, and, from their agreeable taste, form, when 
mixed with water, a pleasant beverage in febrile and inflamma- 
tory diseases. They are used in various purgative compounds 
to improve their taste, but are not active enough to be depended 
on alone for their laxative effect. They should not be prepared 
in copper vessels. 



TANACETUM. 

Tansy. 

Tansy has become naturalized in this country, and is not unfre- 
quently met with growing by road sides. It has a strong, pene- 
trating odour, and an acrid, bitterish taste. Its chief medicinal 
properties reside in a yellowish, volatile oil. Tansy is consider- 
ed tonic and anthelminthic. It has had, also, some confidence in 
obstructed catamenia and hysteric affections. It is most com- 
monly given in infusion. 



TAPIOCA. 

Tapioca. 

The Jatropha manihot, or cassava tree of the West Indies and 
tropical America, has a fleshy, farinaceous root, which, when dried 
and reduced to powder, furnishes a coarse meal, used for baking 
by the negroes and natives, and forming their cassava bread. 
The recent juice of the tree is highly poisonous ; but the whole 
virulence disappears in drying and baking. Tapioca is the pure 
farinaceous part of this root, separated by agitating the whole in 
water, and suffering the coarser parts to subside. The upper 
portion of the liquid is then poured off, while yet turbid, and de- 



362 TEREBINTHINA.— TEREBINTHINA OLEUM. 

posits the tapioca on standing. This article consists, apparently, 
of pure fsecula, and resembles arrow root in its general proper- 
ties. With boiling water it forms a light demulcent, and nutri- 
tive article of food for the sick, and is subject to the remarks 
made under the head of Maranta. 



TEREBINTHINA. 

Turpentine. 

Turpentine, nearly uniform in its general qualities, is obtain* 
ed from various species of pine trees ; but the largest quantity is 
afforded by the pitch pine of our southern states. This substance 
has a strong odour, a warm, pungent, bitterish taste, is semifluid, 
semitransparent, very adhesive and inflammable, burning with a 
white flame and much smoke. It is soluble in alcohol, ether and 
oils, but is not soluble in water, though it impregnates it 
with its taste. It consists of resin dissolved in oil of turpentine. 
Taken in doses of one or two scruples, it is heating and sudorific. 
It is also diuretic, communicating to the urine the odour of vio- 
lets, and, if long persevered in, producing symptoms of strangury. 
Turpentine is not a good ingredient for plasters, as they are apt, 
when they contain it, to grow hard by losing the volatile oil. 



TEREBINTHINA OLEUM. 

Oil of Turpentine. 



This oil is obtained from turpentine by distillation. It has the 
common characteristics of a volatile oil, but possesses some pecu- 
liar habitudes in regard to alcohol, being soluble in seven parts of 
hot alcohol, but separating in a great measure as the spirit cools. 
Although oil of turpentine evaporates readily at low temperatures, 



TEREBINTHIN^ OLEUM. 363 

it requires a heat exceeding 300° Fahrenheit for its active vola- 
tilization. The odour of this oil resembles that of the turpentine 
from which it is extracted, and its taste is highly acrimonious. 

Uses. Taken into the stomach, it occasions a sense of warmth 
in that organ, and commonly throughout the system. In small 
doses it acts upon the kidnies, increasing the quantity of 
urine, and communicating to it an odour like that of violets. 
It is remarkable that this violet odour may be produced in 
the urine of persons, who have not taken the medicine, 
but simply been exposed to the contact and inhalation of its va- 
pour. Large doses generally create nausea and oppression, with 
some vertigo, and in a short period fall upon the bowels and pass 
off by purging.* Such doses also, sometimes, though not often, 
occasion strangury. This medicine, in small and repeated quan- 
tities, has been found beneficial in rheumatism, particularly scia- 
tica, in gleet, fluor albus, and paralysis of the neck of the bladder. 
Administered in a large quantity, it has of late years been found 
the most speedy and effectual of all anthelminthics in cases of 
tsenia, speedily destroying the animal, and discharging it of a livid 

* In two very interesting papers on the oil of turpentine, published by 
Dr. Copland in the London Medical and Physical Journal, it appears, 
that this medicine is not always a certain purgative, when taken alone, 
even in large doses. The author took himself ten drachms of the oil in 
the morning on an empty stomach, having fasted the night before. It 
produced a sensation at the stomach between pain and warmth, vertigo, 
paleness, chills, and an increase of frequency in the pulse during the 
whole day from 69 up to 92, it being at first full, but afterwards weak 
and small. Weakness, thirst, anxiety and nausea continued during the 
day, with a sensation as if the abdominal viscera were drawn towards the 
spine, and the vital energies concentrated about them. A strong tur- 
pentine odour was incessantly exhaled from the lungs, so that the house 
was filled with it. The urine was much increased in quantity, without 
strangury, having the natural colour, a violet odour, and no sediment. 
The next day much debility remained, but the terebinthinate odour dis- 
appeared ; on the third day he was recovered ; and on the fourth, for the 
first time, had a costive discharge from the bowels. Dr. C. considers 
that the turpentine escaped from the circulation chiefly by exhalation 
from the lungs. 



364 TEREBINTHIN/E OLEUM. 

colour, and without animation. In puerperal fever it acquired 
at one time the reputation of a specific among the physicians of 
the city of Dublin. In epilepsy, its use, both in small and in 
large doses, has acquired for it a considerable share of confidence. 
That it is not always, however, successful in this disease, I have 
had occasion to observe, having seen a violent epileptic paroxysm 
take place on the following night after a patient had taken an 
ounce of the oil of turpentine with a full cathartic effect. 

Oil of turpentine is an excellent external stimulant in rheu- 
matic complaints, and deep-seated inflammations. It distinctly 
increases the vesicating power of cantharides. It has been 
strongly recommended by Mr. Kentish and others as a local 
application to recent burns and scalds; but from my own expe- 
rience with both modes, 1 believe an emollient plan of treatment 
preferable in these cases. 

Exhibition. As far as the taste is concerned, this oil is best 
taken clear, floating on cold water, and may be swallowed with 
as much ease as ardent spirits. Combination with other sub- 
stances is not found to improve or disguise its taste, but on the 
contrary, by increasing its bulk, to render the deglutition more 
difficult. But the facility with which it remains on the stomach is 
said to be materially increased by combination. Agreeably to a 
principle laid down by Fordyce, that a combination of several 
aromatic, or acrid substances, causes less inconvenience to the 
stomach than anyone of them singly; it is found that oil of tur- 
pentine, combined with a little ammonia, camphor, cayenne pep- 
per, or some aromatic tincture ; is less apt to occasion nausea and 
distress of the stomach, than if taken alone. — Dr. Nimmo has 
lately announced, that if oil of turpentine be repeatedly agitated 
with successive portions of alcohol, a part of it is dissolved, and 
the residue becomes nearly tasteless, and almost without smell. 
It recovers, however, its former qualities on standing. It re- 
mains a question, how far the medicinal powers are affected 
by this purification. 

In cases of tape worm, from half an ounce to two ounces are 
taken fasting at once. This quantity, if retained by the stomach, 
seldom fails to purge actively and soon. If, however, from any 



TEREBINTHINA CANADENSIS.— TINCTURE. 365 

circumstance, it lingers in the bowels, castor oil should be added 
to expedite its effect. For rheumatism, gleet, &c. from ten to 
sixty minims on sugar or water, with some aromatic tincture, 
may be taken three times a day. If strangury occur, its use 
must be suspended. 



TEREBINTHINA CANADENSIS. 

Canada Balsam. 

This article, known here by the name of fir balsam, and in 
England by the name of Canada balsam, and sometimes by that 
of balm of Gilead, is produced by the Pinus balsamea, or silver 
fir, the Mies balsamifera of Michaux, a tree common in Maine, 
New Hampshire and Canada. It is obtained by puncturing small 
vesicles on the bark, in which it is deposited. It is more fragrant 
than the turpentines, but agrees with them in its general proper- 
ties. It is a popular application to recent incised wounds ; but, 
Jike other foreign substances, it must be injurious in such cases by 
preventing union by the first intention. 



TIJVCTURJE. 

Tinctures. 

Tinctures are spirituous solutions, made by digesting medicinal 
substances in alcohol or proof spirit. In most instances the crude 
material, vegetable or animal, is digested in spirit, till its soluble 
parts are extracted. But sometimes a soluble portion, already 
extracted, or a soluble mineral substance, is dissolved directly in 
spirit to form the tincture. Pure alcohol is not generally used in 
the formation of tinctures, diluted alcohol being found adequate 
to dissolve not only gum-resins, extractive, &c. — for which it is 
47 



366 TINCTURE. 

indeed the best menstruum — but also, to a certain degree, resins, 
volatile oils, and other substances, which are insoluble in water. 

The chief advantages attending this class of preparations are, 
that they afford us solutions of many substances, which cannot be 
dissolved in aqueous fluids ; and that when made they can be 
kept unchanged for an indefinite number of years. On the other 
hand, a great objection exists against them, as a general form of 
preparation, in the circumstance that the solvent employed is it- 
self medicinal ; that it is frequently injurious in disease, and in- 
compatible with the favorable action of the medicine it contains. 

The tincture may be considered a proper form for exhibiting 
medicines in the following cases: 1. — When the dose of the 
medicine dissolved is so small that the nature of the men- 
struum is of no consequence ; as in the Tinctures of opium, 
cantharides, digitalis, muriate of iron, &c. 2. — When the 
medicine dissolved is of a kind, which will be promoted in its 
action by the solvent, rather than retarded by it ; as in the 
'Tinctures of camphor, guaiacum, capsicum, myrrh, &c. 3. — 
When the menstruum only modifies or retards, but does not 
prevent the action of medicines; as in the various cathartic 
tinctures. 

The habitual, or long-continued use of tinctures, especially of 
those which require large doses, is generally pernicious ; and often 
leads to habits of intemperance. 

Tinctura Aloes. Tincture of Moes. — This preparation, 
derived from the Edinburgh College, is rather an aqueous solution 
than a tincture, no more alcohol being added than is sufficient to 
prevent decomposition. Dose, about a fluidounce. 

Tinctura Aloes et Myrrhs. Tincture of Moes and 
Myrrh. Formerly Elixir Proprietatis. — This compound is an 
imitation of the Elixir proprietatis of Paracelsus. It is a pop- 
ular remedy in catameniai obstructions, flatulent pains of the 
stomach and bowels, hysteria, &c. Dose, from one to four flui- 
drachms. To young infants it is given for pain from flatulence in 
doses of twenty or thirty minims in water. 



TINCTURE. 36? 

Tinctura Ammoniata aromatica. Jlmmoniated aromatic 
Tincture. — From the nature of its ingredients, this compound is 
highly stimulating and antispasmodic in the dose of thirty minims. 

Tinctura Angustur^e. Tincture of Angustura. — The 
properties are those of Angustura. Dose, one or two fluidrachms. 

Tinctura Assafoetid^. Tincture of Jlssafetida. — The 
virtues of assafetida are fully extracted by diluted alcohol. The 
tincture is more easy of exhibition in cases of hysteria, and more 
speedy in its effect, than the medicine in substance. Dose, about 
half a fluidounce. 

Tinctura Camphors. Tincture of Camphor.— This alco- 
holic solution of camphor is much used, by rubbing it on the skin, 
in rheumatism, sprains, bruises, chilblains, &c. 

Tinctura Camphors opiata. Opiated Tincture of Cam- 
phor. Formerly Paregoric Elixir. — This preparation has been 
formerly designated in all the British pharmacopceias by the 
name of Tinctura opii camphorata. The London College have 
since changed it to Tinctura camphorce composita, on account 
of the mistakes which, according to Dr. Powell, were found to 
arise from abbreviated prescriptions, between this medicine and 
Tincture of opium. The American name agrees with the one 
first mentioned, except in the transposition of the terms. The 
preparation also contains oil of anise, honey and liquorice, which 
are not directed in the present British formulae. This compound, 
with different variations, has long been a popular medicine under 
the names of Elixir paregoric and Elixir asthmatic. It is 
much employed as a palliative in catarrh and asthma, and an in- 
gredient in expectorant mixtures. Being a weak preparation of 
opium, containing less than two grains in a fluidounce, it is much 
resorted to by nurses and others, who are timid in regard to the 
stronger preparations. It is however more heating, in proportion 
to the dose, than pure opium or laudanum. Dose, from one to 
three fluidrachms. 



368 TINCTURE. 

Tinctura Cantharidum. Tincture of Cantharides. — This 
is the common Tinctura lyttce of the London College. It is of 
suitable strength for internal exhibition in all cases where cantha- 
rides are indicated. The dose is from fifteen minims to a flui- 
drachm, three times a day, to be increased at each time, until 
symptoms of strangury occur, or the object of the medicine is ac- 
complished. See Tinctura capsici et cantharidum, 

Tinctura Capsici. Tincture of Cayenne Pepper. — This 
tincture possesses all the powers of cayenne pepper, and is given 
in doses of from a half to a whole fluidrachm. 

Tinctura Capsici et Cantharidum. Tincture of Cayenne 
Pepper and Cantharides. — This is a very strong tincture of flies, 
intended for external application. It is of the same strength as 
the Tinctura meloes vesicatorii fortior of the Massachusetts 
Pharmacopoeia. The addition of the capsicum serves to increase 
its activity, and to prevent dangerous mistakes between two tinc- 
tures of very different strength. This preparation vesicates 
speedily and well, if kept permanently applied to the skin, or re- 
newed as it dries up. When applied to the hairy part of the head, 
it should be carefully combed or rubbed in. 

Tinctura Cardamomi. Tincture of Cardamom. — A pleas- 
ant, spicy addition to tonic infusions. Dose, if taken alone, one 
or two fluidrachms. 

Tinctura Castorei. Tincture of Castor. — Tincture of 
castor is given as an anti-hysteric and emmenagogue in the dose 
of from one to four fluidrachms. 

Tinctura Catechu. Tincture of Catechu. — A pleasant, 
warm astringent, having the combined properties of catechu and 
cinnamon. Dose, from one to three fluidrachms. 

Tinctura Cinchona. Tincture of Peruvian Bark. — The 
American tincture of Peruvian bark is of intermediate strength 



TINCTURE. 369 

between those of London and Edinburgh. It is as strong as it 
can well be made without great loss of the spirit by absorption. 
The activity of this preparation is by no means proportionate to 
its expense, and it cannot be given in doses sufficiently large to 
produce the effects of the bark in substance, without at the same 
time introducing an injurious quantity of alcohol. The dose is 
from one to four fluidrachms ; but it is chiefly used as an adjunct 
to the other liquid preparations of bark. 

Tinctura Cinchona composita. Compound Tincture of 
Peruvian Bark. — This is, in all important particulars, the same 
with the tincture of Dr. Huxham, employed by him as a febrifuge. 
It is now chiefly used as a pleasant stomachic, but is too stimulat- 
ing to be employed with propriety for any great length of time. 
Dose, from one to three fluidrachms. 

Tinctura Cinnamomi. Tincture of Cinnamon. — This is a 
very pleasant and efficacious astringent, much used in diarrhoea, 
both alone and combined with opiates and antacids. Dose, one 
or two fluidrachms. 

Tinctura ColomhjE. Tincture of Columbo. —This is a pure 
and strong bitter. It is a useful tonic in dyspepsia and habitual 
nausea. Dose, a fluidrachm. 

Tinctura Digitalis. Tincture of Foxglove. — The effects 
of digitalis may be fully derived from this tincture by giving it in 
doses of ten or fifteen minims three times a day, and increasing it 
by an addition of one or two minims to each successive dose 
until the characteristic symptoms, which result from the plant, 
are felt. 

Tinctura Ferri Acetatis. Tincture of Jlcetate of Iron. 
— In the formation of this tincture, a double decomposition takes 
place, by which the acetate of potass and sulphate of iron are 
converted into sulphate of potass and acetate of iron. The me- 
tallic salt alone being soluble in alcohol, a tincture of acetate of 



370 TINCTURE. 

Iron is produced. This article is said by Dr. Percival to be an 
agreeable and useful chalybeate. The dose is one or two flui- 
drachms. It is more palatable than the liquid acetate, and one 
of the two, at least, may be regarded as superfluous. 

Tinctura Ferri Muriatis. Tincture of Muriate of Iron. 
— This alcoholic solution of muriate of iron is one of the most 
powerful chalybeates. It has a peculiar smell, and a disagreeable, 
styptic taste. It is tonic, stimulant and astringent, and is useful- 
ly given in chlorosis, chorea, menorrhagia and dyspepsia. Fif- 
teen or twenty minims may be taken in water three times a day. 
Large doses occasion nausea and oppression. 

Tinctura Gentians Tincture of Gentian. — This tincture 
is a warm, stimulating tonic, used to excite appetite and promote 
digestion ; but, like other medicines of its class, very frequently 
abused by habitual and unnecessary repetition. Dose, one or two 
iluidrachms. 

Tinctura Guaiaci. Tincture of Guaiacum. — The propor- 
tion of resin of guaiacum directed for the American tincture is 
greater than that in either of the British formulae. Tincture of 
guaiacum is much used in chronic rheumatism, two or three 
fluidrachms being a proper dose. It is too acrid to be taken 
clear, and, when mixed with water, the resin separates in an ad- 
hesive state, and is apt to concrete upon the spoon or vessel used. 
On this account the tincture is a less eligible form than the 
powder. 

Tinctura Guaiaci ammoniata. Jlmmoniated Tincture of 
Guaiacum. — The ammonia present in this preparation renders 
it more stimulating than the simple tincture of guaiacum. It is 
applied to the same cases in a smaller dose. 

Tinctura Hellebori nigri. Tincture of Black Helle- 
bore. — Employed as an emmenagogue in the dose of half or a 
whole fluidrachm. 



TINCTURE. 371 

Tinctura Humuli. Tincture of Hop. — This preparation 
of the hop is tonic and soporific in the dose of a fluidrachm. 

Tinctura Hyoscyami. Tincture of Henbane. — This tinc- 
ture is anodyne and soporific, without the constipating effect of 
laudanum. It affects many persons favorably, though not all. 
Dose, a fluidrachm or somewhat less. 

Tinctura Jalapje. Tincture of Jalap. — This is an ex- 
ceedingly strong tincture of jalap, agreeing with that of the 
London College. It is an irritating cathartic in the dose of from 
one to three fluidrachms. 

Tinctura Kino. Tincture of Kino. — A very good astrin- 
gent, applicable to some cases of dianhcea, in doses of one or 
two fluidrachms. 

Tinctura Lavandula. Tincture of Lavender. — This is an 
agreeable stimulant and cordial, used in syncope, hysteria, flatu= 
lence, &c. either alone, or as an adjunct to other medicines. 
Dose, one or two fluidrachms. 

Tinctura Lobelia. Tincture of Indian Tobacco. — This 
tincture is exhibited in asthma, &c. in the dose of about a 
fluidrachm, which may be repeated, if neither vomiting nor relief 
is produced. 

Tinctura Mentha Piperita. Tincture of Peppermint. — 
Considering the very common use made of tinctures of pepper- 
mint, by nurses and inexperienced persons as well as by phy- 
sicians ; it is highly important that the strength of the prepara- 
tion should be uniform. A number of different articles have 
been in use, under the names of tincture, spirit, or essence of 
peppermint, some of which are three or four times as strong as 
others. The American tincture is stronger than the spirit of pep- 
permint of any of the British colleges, and is a much more certain 
preparation. At the same time, it is weaker than some of the 



372 TINCTURE. 

essences sold in the shops. A fluidrachm contains about one 
minim of the oil. The dose for an adult is one or two fluidrachms, 
and for infants from five to twelve minims. If it is dropped in 
hot water long before it is used, a part of the strength is lost by 
evaporation. 

Tinctura Mentha Viridis. Tincture of Spearmint. — 
This resembles the preceding article in its proportions, but maj 
be given in a somewhat larger dose. 

Tinctura Moschi. Tincture of Musk. — A costly and use- 
less preparation. An effectual dose of the musk carries with it 
a gill of pure alcohol. 

Tinctura Myrrhs. Tincture of Myrrh. — Sometimes used 
as a tonic and emmenagogue in the dose of a fluidrachm, but 
more frequently as a gargle, when diluted with water, for spongy 
gums and sore throats. 

Tinctura Opii. Tincture of Opium. Called Laudanum. — 
The quantities of opium directed for this tincture by the Dublin, 
London, Edinburgh and American pharmacopoeias, are all differ- 
ent from each other. The Dublin College employs ten drachms 
of purified hard opium to a pint of spirit ; the London an ounce 
and a quarter of hard powdered opium to a pint ; the Edinburgh 
an ounce of opium to a pound of spirit ; the American Pharma- 
copoeia an ounce to a pint. These tinctures are probably all of 
about the same strength. Dr. Duncan states, that the tinctures of 
the different British pharmacopoeias furnish the same quantity 
of extract on evaporation. Although the American laudanum 
is by calculation a little weaker than any of the others, yet it 
appears to be fully saturated; and if the dregs which remain 
after its preparation be digested with a fresh quantity of spirit, 
they will still furnish laudanum of considerable strength. It is 
probable, therefore, that the employment of a greater quantity 
would be only a waste of opium. Mr. Phillips found that a 
fluidounce of spirit takes up more of purified opium than of 



TINCTURE. 373 

crude opium; but Dr. Duncan thinks that this difference is 
compensated by the diminution of strength which opium under- 
goes in its purification. 

Tincture of opium, on standing, always deposits a sediment, 
and this goes on indefinitely increasing, apparently in proportion 
to the age of the preparation. The nature of this deposit has 
not, to my knowledge, been explained. It differs from opium in 
not being again soluble in the same menstruum. It may possi- 
bly consist of insoluble particles, sufficiently minute to pass the 
filter, and from the nearness of their specific gravity to that of 
the fluid, requiring a long time for their deposition. But more 
probably this sediment is the result of chemical reaction among 
the constituents of the tincture, like that which takes place in 
decoctions from long boiling, and by which an insoluble substance 
is formed. I find that a grain of this sediment is not dissolved, 
by frequent agitation during forty-eight hours, in a fluidounce 
of alcohol, of diluted alcohol, of sulphuric ether, or of water. It 
is moderately inflammable, partially fusible, and, when washed 
with alcohol and water, it has a much more feeble taste than 
opium. Its medicinal powers are also much weaker than those 
of pure opium. 

Most of the other tinctures deposit sediments in the same 
manner, after long standing. How far their strength may be 
impaired by it, it is difficult to say. There seems to be no bet- 
ter preventive against this deposition, than that tinctures should 
be prepared by druggists in small quantities at a time, in order 
that they may be the more frequently renewed. 

Tinctura Quassia. Tincture of Quassia. — The bitter 
principle of quassia is fully communicated to diluted alcohol. 
Dose, a fluidrachm. 

Tinctura Rhei. Tincture of Rhubarb. — This tincture is 
a warm, stimulating cathartic, in the dose of from a half to a 
whole fluidounce. 



48 



374 TINCTURiE. 

Tinctura Rhei et Aloes. Tincture of Rhubarb and 
Moes. Formerly Elixir Sacrum. — This is also a stimulating 
purgative, in about the same dose as the preceding. 

Tinctura Rhei et Gentians. Tincture of Rhubarb and 
Gentian. — This is a laxative, bitter tincture, adapted to certain 
cases of dyspepsia, diarrhoea, &c. As a tonic or astringent, one 
or two fluidrachms may be given. 

Tinctura Rhei dulcis. Sweet Tincture of Rhubarb. — 
This tincture is more agreeable to the taste than any of the fore- 
going preparations of rhubarb, and is a popular cathartic in some 
parts of the United States. Dose, half or a whole fluidounce. 
The tinctures of rhubarb are generally slow cathartics, but are 
mild in their operation, and leave the bowels in a good state. 
They are well calculated for the low stages of fever, on account 
of the safety of their operation, the cordial as well as purgative 
influence which they exert, and the convenient criterion of their 
operation afforded by the yellow colour of the discharges. Very 
small doses are sometimes sufficient in these cases. 

Tinctura Sanguinary. Tincture of Bloodroot. — This 
tincture has a fine red colour, and a bitter, acrid taste. It is 
sometimes used as a tonic in the dose of a fluidrachm, which 
quantity does not commonly produce nausea. 

Tinctura Saponis et Opii. Tincture of Soap and Opium. 
— This is the old Anodyne balsam, a very convenient opiate, pos- 
sessing about half the strength of laudanum. The taste of the 
opium is concealed by the other ingredients, a circumstance of 
some importance in the case of patients who have an aversion to 
that medicine. I have repeatedly found it to remain on the 
stomach when laudanum would not. The dose is from forty to 
sixty minims. 

Tinctura Senn^e aromatica. Aromatic Tincture of Senna. 
Warner's Gout Cordial. — This is a stimulating tincture, render- 



TINCTURE. 375 

ed laxative by the rhubarb and senna which it contains. It is 
essentially the same with the gout cordial of Warner. - The dose 
is about two fluidounces in an equal quantity of hot water. 

Tinctura Sennje composita. Compound Tincture of Senna. 
Formerly Elixir Salutis. — This is one of the more active 
purging tinctures, employed in flatulent colic, atonic gout, &c. 
The dose is from a quarter to a whole fluidounce. Its most com- 
mon use, however, is that of an auxiliary and corrective to other 
medicines, particularly to castor oil, with which it is very fre- 
quently administered. 

Tinctura Serpentari^. Tincture of Virginia Snake Root. 
— A tonic and stimulating adjunct to other medicines, most 
frequently given with infusions of bark. Dose, one or two 
fluidrachms. 

Tinctura Stramonii. Tincture of Thorn Apple. — The com- 
mencing dose is fifteen or twenty minims, to be increased by five 
minims at each dose, until the characteristic effects of stramonium 
are produced, if necessary. 

Tinctura Acidi sulphurici. Tincture of Sulphuric Acid. 
— This is the Aromatic sulphuric acid of the Edinburgh College, 
formerly called Elixir vitrioli. The three fluidounces of the 
American Pharmacopoeia are an approximation to the six ounces, 
by weight, of acid in the Edinburgh formula. It is probable, 
that the alcohol in this preparation is partly converted into ether 
by combining with the acid. The activity, however, of the 
medicine, depends upon the uncombined sulphuric acid, from 
which the name of the compound is properly taken. Dr. Dun- 
can arranges it with the ethereal tinctures. It affords an ele- 
gant mode of exhibiting sulphuric acid, the taste of which is im- 
proved by the aromatics. Dose, from ten to forty minims, largely 
diluted with water. 



376 TOLUTANUM. 

Tinctura Tolutani. Tincture of Tolu. — This tincture is 
chiefly used for making the syrup, to which it imparts the agree- 
able flavour of Tolu. 

Tinctura Valeriana. Tincture of Valerian. — Diluted 
alcohol extracts the virtues of valerian ; but the quantity re- 
quisite to display the powers of that medicine would require the 
introduction of too much alcohol. It is less eligible than the 
infusion, to which it is sometimes made an adjunct. 

Tinctura Valeriana ammoniata. Ammoniated Tincture 
of Valerian. — This is more powerful as an antispasmodic than 
the preceding article. It may be given in hysteric cases in the 
dose of half a fluidrachm in some mild vehicle. 

Tinctura Veratri Viridis. Tincture of American Helle- 
bore. — A great part of the spirit directed is absorbed by the 
root in the preparation of this tincture. It is sometimes given in 
gout and rheumatism, in the dose of ten or fifteen minims. 



TOLUTANUM. 

Tolu. 

The balsam called Tolu is brought in gourd shells from South 
America, where it is procured from the Toluifera balsamum by 
incisions made in the bark. It has been lately announced by 
Mr. Lambert, that this tree is the same as the Myroocylon Peru- 
iferum.* It follows, if this be true, that the balsams of Peru and 
of Tolu are the same substance, except that the latter is more 
commonly inspissated by evaporation, and reaches us in a solid 
form. It contains benzoic acid, volatile oil, and resin. Its taste 
is warm and somewhat sweetish, and its odour not wholly unlike 

* Branded Quarterly Journal, No. XIX. p. 28. 



TORMENTILLA.— TOXICODENDRON. 377 

that of lemon. By solution of potass, its odour is changed to one 
resembling that of clove-pink. It is a stimulating expectorant, 
sometimes found useful in chronic bronchitis, asthma, and ca- 
tarrh ; but inadmissible in acute pulmonary inflammation. On 
account of its agreeable flavour, it is a favorite adjunct to diapho- 
retic and expectorant mixtures. Dose, from five grains to two 
scruples. 



TORMENTILLA. 

Tormentil. 

The Tormentilla erecta is an European plant, having a very 
astringent root, seldom used in this country. 



TOXICODENDRON. 

Poison Oak. 

The Rhus toxicodendron and R. radicans are American 
plants, closely resembling each other in their habit and qualities, 
and by many botanists supposed to be varieties of the same 
species. They are well known by the names of poison oak and 
poison ivy. These shrubs, in common with jR. vernix and one 
or two other species, are highly poisonous to certain constitutions, 
although many persons are incapable of being affected by them. 
The poison is received by the contact, and even the effluvium of 
these plants, and appears in the form of a cutaneous disease, first 
consisting in redness, tumefaction and itching of the face and hands ; 
which are followed by blisters, suppuration, aggravated swell- 
ing, heat, pain and fever. The disease commonly increases for 
four or five days, when desquamation takes place, and recovery 
follows. The morbid affection appears to be of the erysipelatous 
kind, and is to be treated with rest, low diet, purging with neutral 



378 TRAGACANTHA. 

salts, and bloodletting in plethoric patients, when the arterial 
excitement is great A cold solution of acetate of lead is the 
best external application. 

The toxicodendron has been introduced into medicine, by 
Dr. Alderson in England and Dr. Fresnoy in France, for the 
treatment of paralysis and cutaneous eruptions. It has also 
been given in consumptive complaints in this country. But I 
know of no evidence of advantage derived from it sufficient to 
justify the hazard of keeping it in apothecaries 5 shops. It is one 
of the most uncertain of medicines, sometimes having been 
carried to the extent of an ounce of the extract at a dose without 
effect ; at other times having produced alarming consequences 
in an almost imperceptible quantity. 

The milky juice of Rhus radicans forms an indelible marking 
ink. For a full account of this plant and Rhus vernix, see 
American Medical Botany, Vols. I. and III. 



TRAGACANTHA, 

Tragacanth, 

Origin. It appears from Olivier, a French traveller in Asia, 
that gum tragacanth is principally procured from the Astragalus 
verus, a shrub of the north of Persia. Some other species, also, 
afford a similar gum. It exudes from the bark in hot weather, 
and concretes in slender, tortuous masses. 

Qualities. This gum is inodorous and insipid, or slightly 
bitter. It is in whitish, semitransparent, thin, wrinkled, vermi- 
form pieces ; brittle, but not easily pulverized, except in cold 
weather, or in a warmed mortar. It requires a large portion of 
water, and much trituration, to effect its solution. In alcohol, it 
is scarcely soluble. Its mucilage differs from that of gum arabic 
in being precipitated by acetate of lead and oxymuriate of 
tin, and not by silicated potass. It resembles more nearly the 



TRIOSTEUM.— TROCHISCI. 379 

gum of cherry trees, and has been included by Dr. John under 
the name of cerasin. 

Uses. Like gum arabic,it is a useful demulcent in strangury, 
dysentery and catarrh; but its chief use is that of an uniting 
medium in pharmacy. 



TRIOSTEUM. 

Fever Root. 

The Triosteam perfoliatum is a native plant, the root of which 
is cathartic in the dose of thirty or thirty-five grains. It seme- 
times operates as an emetic in the same doses. The strength 
is somewhat impaired by keeping, so that the stock should be 
renewed every year. 



TROCHISCI. 

Troches. 

These are preparations of no great value, consisting of medi- 
cines made up with sugar and mucilage into small, hard masses. 

Trochisci Glycyrrhiz^: cum Opio. Troches of Liquorice 
and Opium. — These may be chewed in catarrhal affections to 
the amount of half a dozen in a day. 

Trochisci Calcis Carbonatis. Troches of Carbonate of 
Lime. — The antacid effects of the carbonate of lime, it is feared, 
may be frustrated by the acescency of the sugar. 

Trochisci Magnesia. Troches of Magnesia. — These are 
given in cases of acidity in the primee vise, but are subject to the 



380 ULMUS.— UNGUENTA. 

same objection as the former article. A drachm or two may be 
taken as a laxative. 



ULMUS. 

Slippery Elm. 

The Ulmus fulva, or slippery elm, inhabits the northern and 
western parts of the United States, from Canada to Pennsylvania. 
The inner bark of this tree is charged with a gummy substance in 
great quantity, so that if a small piece is chewed in the mouth, it 
almost instantly fills it with thick, viscid mucilage. This bark, 
both in substance and in decoction, is a valuable demulcent in 
dysentery, and in strangury either produced by cantharides or 
resulting from other causes. Elm bark has been used as food, 
and found capable of supporting life in cases of emergency. Ex- 
ternally, it is employed as an emollient application, to promote 
suppuration, and to answer the different ends to which common 
poultices are applicable. For this purpose, either the green bark 
should be bruised, or the dried bark cut into shreds and boiled. 
Internally, it proves most palatable in the Infusion, 



UNGUENT A. 

Ointments. 

Ointments are soft, unctuous solids, of an intermediate con- 
sistence between cerates and liniments, intended for external 
application. 

Unguentum Acidi nitrici. Ointment of Nitric Acid. — 
Nitric acid combines slowly with lard, giving it a yellowish 
colour and a waxy consistence. The ointment is of use in 



UNGUENTA. 381 

some herpetic and syphilitic eruptions. It should not be used 
before the combination has become complete. 

Unguentum Aqu^E Ros.e. Ointment of Rose Water. — This 
forms a very white and elegant ointment, strongly perfumed with 
rose water, which remains incorporated with the other ingre- 
dients. Our druggists inform me, that larger quantities of it are 
sold in this city than of any other ointment. It is used in slight 
eruptions and excoriations ; also as an elegant vehicle for more 
powerful substances. It is otherwise called Cold cream, and 
Ceratum Galeni. 

Unguentum Cantharidum. Ointment of Cantharides. — 
This is a weak preparation of cantharides, intended for keeping 
up the discharge of blisters. The activity of the flies, however, 
is nearly destroyed by boiling. 

Unguentum Cupri Subacetatis. Ointment of Subacetate 
of Copper. — This is a stimulant and mild escharotic application 
for indolent ulcers. 

Unguentum Gallarum. Ointment of Galls. — An astrin- 
gent ointment, particularly used in hemorrhoidal affections. 

Unguentum Hydrargyri. Mercurial Ointment. — The pre- 
paration of the American Pharmacopoeia is of nearly the same 
strength as the Strong mercurial ointment of the London Col- 
lege, three ounces of mercury being contained in seven of oint- 
ment. It was formerly supposed, that this ointment consisted of 
metallic mercury in a state of minute subdivision, mechanically 
mixed with lard. But it is now ascertained, that a part of the 
mercury is oxidized, and forms with the lard a chemical com- 
pound. The experiments of Mr. Donnovan have thrown much 
light upon the nature of this compound, and may lead to impor- 
tant improvements in its preparation. He found that by ex- 
posing mercurial ointment, formed in the common way, to a heat 
of 212° for some time, it separated into two strata. The upper 
49 



382 UNGUENTA. 

stratum was of a light grey colour, and contained a portion of 
mercurial oxide in combination with the lard ; the lower stratum 
was very heavy, and when triturated with magnesia afforded 
crude mercury, amounting to four fifths of all which had been 
employed. The upper stratum, although containing but a small 
quantity of oxide, was nevertheless extremely active, whence Mr. 
Donnovan concludes, that a mercurial ointment of superior acti- 
vity, as well as attended with greater economy, may be formed 
directly from the black oxide of mercury, and lard, by keeping 
them for some time mixed at a temperature a little above 300°, 
until they combine. He found that an ointment thus prepared 
with a very small quantity of oxide, was as active as the common 
mercurial ointment, containing twelve times the quantity of 
mercury. 

Mercurial ointment requires for its preparation in the com- 
mon way a very tedious process, much time and labour being 
requisite to extinguish the mercury, and produce a uniform 
blueish mass without visible globules of the metal. To facilitate 
the extinction of the mercury, a variety of substances have been 
added with the lard, most of which are considered objectionable, 
either as weakening the force of the mercury or as tending to 
irritate the skin. It is, however, found both useful and unob- 
jectionable to add a small portion of old mercurial ointment, or 
a little lard which has become rancid from age. 

This ointment affords a convenient and effectual mode of 
bringing the system under the mercurial influence. When rub- 
bed upon the skin, it excites ptyalism as readily as the internal 
exhibition of mercurial medicines. For this purpose, about a 
drachm of the ointment should be rubbed upon the inside of the 
thighs, or some other part where the cuticle is thin, every morn- 
ing and night, until the mouth is affected. The friction should 
be continued with the palm of the hand, and if possible, by the 
patient himself, until the ointment is completely rubbed into the 
pores of the cuticle, and none of it remains in a separable 
state. The effect on the system will be expedited, in urgent 
cases, if a portion of ointment be kept in each axilla. 



UNGUENT A. 383 

Unguentum Hydrargyri Oxidi Cinerei. Ointment of 
Grey Oxide of Mercury. — This ointment, in which mercury 
exists in the state of protoxide, would seem calculated to answer 
the same purpose as the common mercurial ointment. On trial, 
however, this has not been found to be the case. It cannot 
be rubbed in like the common ointment, the lard disappearing 
and leaving the oxide on the surface of the skin. Its mercurial 
powers on the system are also said to be much more feeble. 
These defects have been properly ascribed to the circumstance, 
that the mercurial oxide is in a state of mechanical mixture, and 
not of chemical combination with the lard. Mr. Donnovan's ex- 
periments render it probable, that if this ointment were kept for 
some hours at a heat of 300°, such a combination of the ingredi- 
ents would take place as to render it a very active preparation. 

Unguentum Hydrargyri Nitratis Fortius. Ointment 
of Nitrate of Mercury. — This is a powerfully stimulant and 
alterative application, used with great benefit in cases of herpes, 
tinea capitis and some other eruptions. The name of Citrine 
ointment is commonly applied both to this and to the following 
preparation. 

Unguentum Hydrargyri Nitratis Mitius. Milder Oint- 
ment of Nitrate of Mercury. — This is used in the same cases 
as the preceding, and being milder in its effects, it is generally 
preferred in cases where a harsh operation might be injurious, as 
in complaints of the eyelids. It is very effectual in psorophthal- 
mia, and in the purulent eyes of infants, which are obstinate, and 
resist the use of milder means. It becomes hard by keeping, 
and has a marbled appearance. When used, a small portion is 
melted by the flame of a candle, and applied with the finger, or in 
some cases with a camel's hair pencil. 

Unguentum Hydrargyri Nitrico-Oxidi. Ointment of 
Nitric Oxide of Mercury. — This is a stimulating ointment of 
much use, applied to indolent ulcers. Its activity is weakened 
by mixing it with any ointment containing resin. 



384 UNGUENTA. 

Unguentum Hydrargyri Submuriatis ammoniati. Oint- 
ment of Jimmoniated Submuriate of Mercury. — An effectual 
remedy in many cutaneous diseases. Cases of psora are some- 
times removed by it. 

Unguentum Picis liquids. Tar Ointment. — Frequently 
used in the cure of tinea capitis. A less adhesive ointment may 
be prepared by using suet or lard instead of wax. 

Unguentum Plumbi Subcarbonatis. Ointment of Sub- 
carbonate of Lead. — A mildly astringent and sedative applica- 
tion, used in cases of burns and excoriations. 

Unguentum simplex. Simple Ointment. — Employed to 
sheathe irritable surfaces, to dress blisters, and to furnish a vehi- 
cle for external medicaments. 

Unguentum Stramonii. Ointment of Stramonium.— -This 
ointment is a valuable sedative and anodyne application. It 
agrees remarkably well with hemorrhoids, with irritable and pain- 
ful ulcers, and with many cutaneous eruptions. 

Unguentum Sulphuris. Sulphur Ointment. — In the cure 
of the itch, this ointment, notwithstanding its disagreeable odour, 
continues to be preferred to all others for certainty and safety. 
It should be rubbed upon the affected parts of the skin for three 
successive nights, and may be washed off each subsequent morn- 
ing. A little oil of lemon conceals the odour in a great degree. 

Unguentum Sulphuris compositum. Compound Sulphur 
Ointment. — Less disagreeable than the preceding, and probably 
more effectual in some cases. 

Unguentum Veratri Viridis. Ointment of American 
Hellebore. — This ointment is effectual in psora and some other 
eruptions. Its use requires caution ; for if largely applied at 
once, it produces symptoms like those which attend the internal 
exhibition of the Veratrum. 



XJVM.— UVA URSI. 385 

Unguentum Zinci Oxidi impuri. Ointment of impure 
Oxide of Zinc. — Tutty ointment is used in some species of 
ophthalmia, and for sore nipples. Its action is moderately stim- 
ulating and astringent. 



UYM. 

Raisins. 

Raisins are the dried fruit of the vine, (see the article Vinum.) 
They are chiefly made from two varieties, called the black raisin 
grape, and the white raisin grape. They are dried, sometimes 
by breaking down the bunches, and leaving them suspended on 
the vine ; at others, by dipping them in a ley of potass, and 
spreading them to dry in the sun. The latter part of this process 
is the origin of the ancient name Uvce passes. Ripe grapes con- 
tain sugar, mucilage, jelly, albumen, gluten, supertartrate of 
potass ; and tartaric, citric and malic acids. The candying of 
raisins is owing to the crystallization of their sugar. Raisins are 
used in pharmacy as an agreeable appendage to certain other 
medicines ; but when taken alone in large quantities, they are apt 
to produce heart-burn and flatulence. The processes of cookery 
render them less digestible, by converting their sugar into acid. 



UVA URSI. 

Uva Ursi. 

Origin. The Arbutus uva ursi is a low, trailing shrub, 
common to Europe and the northern parts of America. With 
us it grows in beds, in the most dry and barren situations, which, 
from their remote resemblance to those of the cranberry vine, 
frequently give to the plant the name of upland cranberry. 



386 VALERIANA. 

Qualities. The leaves are small, evergreen and coriaceous, 
having a bitterish, astringent taste. Water is their best solvent. 
They contain tannin in such quantities that they have been used 
in the north of Europe for dressing leather. They are also said 
to possess mucus, bitter extractive, gallic acid, and some resin 
and lime. 

Uses. These leaves are astringent and tonic. They have 
been celebrated since the time of De Haen as a remedy in 
nephritic and calculous cases, and were at one time supposed even 
capable of dissolving stone in the bladder. This supposition is 
without foundation, and they are only to be viewed as a palliative 
in gravelly complaints and strangury, in which view they un- 
doubtedly are entitled to confidence. Dr. Cullen adopts the 
opinion of De Heucher, that the symptoms of calculus generally 
are susceptible of relief from astringents, and believes that on this 
principle the Uva ursi mitigates complaints arising from that 
source. I have used this medicine considerably in nephritis and 
strangury, and am satisfied that it is a useful palliative, especially 
in protracted cases, where the more common remedies have failed 
to give relief. Uva ursi has been recommended in pulmonary 
consumption ; but neither the character of the medicine, nor the 
result of enlarged experience, has justified confidence in its 
powers to relieve that disease. 

Exhibition. One or two scruples may be given at a dose 
in powder ; but a better form is that of a decoction made from half 
an ounce of the leaves boiled ten minutes in a pint of water, of 
which a gill may be taken three or four times a day, or oftener, if 
necessary. 



VALERIANA. 

Valerian. 

Origin. The Valeriana officinalis is a perennial plant of 
Europe, susceptible of cultivation in the United States. The 



VERATRUM ALBUM. 387 

roots are dug in the autumn or spring, and carefully dried, during 
which process they lose about three fourths of their weight. 

Qualities. Valerian has a peculiar, disagreeable odour, and 
a pungent, bitter taste. It contains, according to Trommsdorf, 
a greenish- white, volatile oil ; also fsecula, gum, extractive and 
resin. Water and alcohol extract its properties. It is remark- 
able that although this root is universally disagreeable to the hu- 
man species, yet cats and some other animals are attracted and 
delighted with it. 

Uses. Valerian is a valuable antispasmodic and soporific. 
It is given with great advantage in hysteria, and produces a re- 
markable effect in quieting the nervous agitation which prevents 
sleep in delicate and irritable females. It seems to exceed all 
other medicines in its soporific effect in these cases, and is fol- 
lowed by no unpleasant consequence. It proves an anodyne in 
many cases of nervous head-ache, hemicrania, and even in tic 
douloureux, which last disease I have known to be much palliat- 
ed by its use. It has had some fame in epilepsy, probably of 
the symptomatic kind. 

Exhibition. From a scruple to a drachm may be given in 
fine powder, but a preferable form is that of the Tincture, and 
especially of the Infusion; which see. Its disagreeable taste 
may be covered by cinnamon, mace or lemon peel. 



VERATRUM ALBUM. 

White Hellebore. 

White hellebore is a native of the mountainous parts of the 
continent of Europe. The recent root has a disagreeable odour, 
which is lost in drying. Its taste is bitter, acrimonious and 
durable. M. M. Pelletier and Caventou have discovered a pecu- 
liar alkaline substance in this plant, which, they state, also exists 
in Veratrum sabadilla, and Colchicum autumnale, and to which 
they have given the name of veratrine, otherwise veratria. 



388 VERATRUM VIRIDE. 

This substance is white, pulverulent ; has no odour, but excites 
violent sneezing. Its taste is acrid, but not bitter. It is scarce- 
ly soluble in cold water. Boiling water dissolves a very minute 
portion, and becomes acrid to the taste. In alcohol it is very 
soluble. At 122° Fahrenheit it melts, and afterwards appears 
like wax. It affects test papers like an alkali, and forms salts 
with acids. Small doses occasion violent vomiting, and may 
prove fatal. 

Uses. White hellebore is a violent emetic and cathartic, and 
is dangerous in large doses, from the prostration and narcotic 
symptoms, which it occasions. In small quantities, however, it 
is a manageable emetic, and has long been resorted to as an alter- 
ative in refractory chronic diseases, such as mania, epilepsy and 
cutaneous eruptions. Combined with opium, it removes the 
paroxysms of gout, and was at one time supposed to be the basis 
of the French gout specific, called Eau medicinale. Snuffed 
up the nose, it excites violent sneezing, and is powerfully errhine. 
It cures psora and some other cutaneous diseases, applied to the 
skin in the form of ointment, but is not accounted altogether safe. 

Exhibition. Two or three grains of the powder form a safe 
dose. In gout the Wine of white hellebore has been employed ; 
which see. 



VERATRUM VIRIDE. 

•American Hellebore, 

Origin. The plant bearing this name grows in wet meadows 
and on the banks of brooks throughout the United States. It 
sends up a tuft of large plaited leaves early in spring, and in 
June produces a panicle of green flowers. It is often designated 
by the name of poke root, though a very different plant from the 
Phytolacca. 

Qualities, Its properties resemble those of the Veratrum 
album of Europe, to which plant it is so closely allied in appear- 



VERATRUM VIRIDE. 389 

ance, that many botanists have considered them the same species. 
The root has a bitter taste, accompanied with acrimony, and 
leaves a permanent impression on the mouth and fauces. It 
abounds with a resinous juice, which adheres closely to a knife 
with which it has been cut. This is taken up by alcohol, and 
precipitated by water. The decoction has an intensely bitter 
taste, probably owing to an extractive principle. The distilled 
water has a slightly unpleasant taste, without bitterness or 
pungency. Veratrine probably exists in this root. 

Uses. Like the white hellebore, it is an acrid emetic, and a 
powerful stimulant, followed by sedative effects.* From the 
sum of my observations respecting it, I am satisfied that the root, 
when not impaired by long keeping or exposure, is, in suffi- 
cient doses, a strong emetic ; commencing its operation tardily, 
but continuing it in many instances for a long time ; in large 
doses affecting the functions of the brain and nervous system in 
a powerful manner, producing giddiness, impaired vision, prostra- 
tion of strength, and diminution of the vital powers. Like the 
Veratrum album and Colchicum autumnale,ihe violent impres- 
sion it makes upon the system is capable of arresting the parox- 
ysms of gout, and of giving relief in some unyielding cases of 
protracted rheumatism. Like those articles, it requires to be given 
with caution and under vigilant restrictions. The solutions of 
this vegetable have appeared to me more active, in proportion to 
their quantity, than the substance ; probably in consequence of 
part of the powder being thrown off in the first efforts to vomit. 

Some patients have been relieved, both of gout and rheumatism, 
by moderate doses, such as do not bring on nausea or any disa- 
greeable effect. Others have not derived benefit, except from 
such quantities as occasion vomiting. Some have experienced 

* Josselyn, in his Voyage to New England, informs us that the young 
Indians had a custom of electing their chiefs by a sort of ordeal instituted 
with the roots of this plant, which he calls " White hellebore. 1 ' A 
portion of the root was repeatedly given to each individual, and he 
whose stomach made the most vigorous resistance, or soonest recovered 
from its effects, was considered the stoutest of the party, and entitled 
to command the rest. 
£0 



390 VERONICA.— VINUM. 

very distressing consequences, such as excessive sickness, purg- 
ing, impaired vision, faintness, and even total insensibility, where 
the dose has been imprudently large.* 

Exhibition. From three to six grains in powder will com- 
monly occasion vomiting, the activity being in some degree pro- 
portionate to the freshness of the article. Dr. Ware found, that 
doses somewhat larger did not act with undue violence, in the 
case of some alms-house patients. A wine prepared like that of 
white hellebore has produced relief in gout and rheumatism, in 
doses of less than a fluidrachm. For external application, see 
the Ointment of this article. 



VERONICA. 

Veronica. 

The Veronica Virginica is a tall, native plant, differing from 
the rest of its family in habit, and considered by Nuttall and 
some other botanists as a separate genus. Its root is very bitter 
and somewhat nauseous. It sometimes operates as a cathartic, in 
the dose of a scruple ; but in several trials which I have made 
with it, I have found it uncertain in this respect. 



VINUM. 

Wine. 

Origin, &c. The vine, Vitis vinifera, has been cultivated from 
time immemorial, and the uses of its fermented juice were known 
in the most remote periods of history. At the present day, wine 

* For a full account of this plant, see American Medical Botany, 
Vol. II. p. 121. 



VINUM. 391 

is made in all the countries of the south of Europe and the ad- 
jacent islands; and it is highly probable that it will hereafter 
become an object of profitable attention in the southern parts of 
the United States. The juice of the grape, when recently ex- 
pressed, is called must. This, when exposed in vats to a tem- 
perature of 70°, begins to undergo the vinous fermentation; it N 
becomes turbid, a motion takes place among its particles, a scum 
collects on its surface, the temperature rises, and carbonic acid 
is disengaged. In a few days, the scum and impurities subside, 
the liquor becomes clear, it is found to have lost much of its 
saccharine quality, and to have acquired the vinous character. 
It is then put into casks, and afterwards into bottles, during all 
which time a secondary fermentation insensibly continues, 
and the wine improves in character. It continues to ripen until 
it has acquired the greatest improvement of which it is capable, 
after which it passes into the acetous fermentation. 

Several of the constituent parts of the grape, enumerated un- 
der the article Uvce, appear to be necessary in the formation of 
wine. The sugar is the basis of the spirituous quality, the gluten 
promotes the fermentation, and the tartaric acid gives a quality 
which distinguishes wine from the fermented juice of other 
fruits. In most of the fruits from which artificial wines are 
made, the malic acid predominates instead of the tartaric, so that 
wines made from them partake of the qualities of cider. The 
fermentation, also, is less regular and complete in these, than it is 
in the juice of the grape, so that they require artificial additions 
to bring them to a state of resemblance to wine. 

The stimulating properties of wine depend upon the alcohol 
which it contains, and which may be separated from it by dis- 
tillation. The alcohol, however, is so modified by its combina- 
tion with the other ingredients of the wine, that its intoxicating 
effects are much less in the state of wine, than when in the state 
of spirit. For example, it has been found by experiment, that 
Madeira, Sherry and Port contain from one fourth to one fifth of 
their bulk of alcohol, so that a person who takes a bottle of either 
of them will take nearly half a pint of pure alcohol, equal to al- 
most a pint of brandy. The inebriating effect, then, of the wine 



392 VINUM. 

is obviously less than that of the spirit it contains. From this 
circumstance, some have supposed alcohol to be the product 
rather than the educt of distillation ; that its elements only exist- 
ed in wine, and were not brought into combination except at the 
temperature necessary for distillation. It has been found, how- 
ever, by Gay Lussac and others, that with the aid of a vacuum, 
alcohol may be separated at a temperature of 66°, and even as 
low as 56°. It has been also shown, that by precipitating the 
colouring matter and some other elements of wine by subacetate 
of lead, and afterwards saturating the clear liquor with subcar- 
bonate of potass, the alcohol may be completely separated with- 
out any elevation of temperature. So that there can be hardly a 
doubt, that alcohol exists ready formed in wine, and that its 
activity is, in a certain degree, modified by the substances which 
are present and in combination with it. 

A greater part of the wines consumed in this country contain 
uncombined alcohol. This is added in the form of brandy, 
during the fermentation of the wines, before their passage across 
the Atlantic. Farther additions are likewise made here, espe- 
cially to the weaker kinds. Small quantities of spirit judiciously 
added at proper periods, become assimilated to the wine by 
fermentation, and are said to be fretted in, by which process the 
body of the wine is improved. But larger quantities than the 
wine can thus assimilate impair its vinous character, and cause 
it to approach to that of ardent spirit. 

Mr. Brande has instituted a set of experiments for determining 
the relative quantity of alcohol in different wines. The follow- 
ing table contains the average quantity of alcohol, of the specific 
gravity .825, in a hundred parts by measure, of each wine : 

Lissa, 25.41 Teneriffe, 19.79 

Port, 22.96 Colares, 19.75 

Raisin wine, 25.12 Lachryma Christi, 19.70 

Marsala, 25.09 White Constantia, 19.75 

Madeira, 22.27 Red Constantia, 18.92 

Currant wine, 20.55 Lisbon, 18.94 

Sherry, 19.17 Malaga, 18.94 



VINUM. 



393 



Bueellas, 


18.49 


Tent, 


13.30 


Red Madeira, 


20.35 


White Champagne, 


13.30 


Cape Muschat, 


18.25 


Red Champagne, 


11.93 


Cape Madeira, 


20.51 


Red Hermitage, 


12.32 


Grape wine, 


18.11 


Vin de Grave, 


13.37 


Calcavella, 


18.65 


Frontignac, 


12.79 


Vidonia, 


19.25 


Cote Rotie, 


12.32 


Alba Flora, 


17.26 


Gooseberry wine, 


11.84 


Malaga, 


17.26 


Tokay, 


9.88 


White Hermitage, 


17.43 


Elder wine, 


9.87 


Roussillon, 


18.13 


Orange wine, 


11.26 


Claret, 


15.10 


Cider, highest average, 9.87 


Malmsey Madeira, 


16.40 


Cider, lowest average, 5.21 


Lunel, 


15.52 


Perry, 


7.26 


Sheraaz, 


15.52 


Mead, 


7.32 


Syracuse, 


15.28 


Burton ale, 


8.88 


Sauterne, 


14.22 


London Porter, 


4.20 


Burgundy, 


14.57 


Small beer, 


1.28 


Hock, 


13.68 


Brandy, 


53.39 


Hock, old, in cask, 


8.88 


Rum, 


53.68 


Nice, 


14.63 


Gin, 


51.60 


Barsac, 


13.86 







Wines admit of four divisions, as follows : 

1. — Sweet Wines. These are Malaga, Frontignac, Tokay, 
Malmsey, and others of the kind. They contain a certain por- 
tion of saccharine matter, which has not been fermented, or 
converted into wine. They may be produced by an imperfect 
fermentation, by partially drying the grapes before they are 
pressed, or by boiling the unfermented juice. 

2. — Sparkling Wines, of which Champagne is an example. 
These contain large quantities of carbonic acid in consequence 
of their being bottled at an early period Champagne is brisk 
if bottled any time between the vintage and the following May. 
If the bottling be omitted till October, the Champagne is stilL 
It is, however, somewhat improved in strength. 



394 VINUM. 

3. — Dry and Light Wines, such as Claret, Burgundy, Her- 
mitage ; also the German wines, Hock, Rhenish, Mayne, Moselle, 
&c. In these the saccharine principle is completely overcome 
by fermentation. The spirit produced, however, is small in 
amount, and the wines have an acidulous character. 

4. — Dry and Strong Wines. Madeira, Sherry and Port 
are of this kind. In all these a quantity of brandy is fretted in 
during the first or second fermentation. In Madeira, care is 
taken to free the grapes from the stalks and unsound ones, 
before they are committed to the press. At Xeres in Spain, 
where Sherry is made, the grapes are slightly dried, and sprin- 
kled with quicklime before they are subjected to the press. 
Hence Sherry is one of the least acid of wines. 

The red colour and rough taste of certain wines are owing to the 
fermentation being conducted on the skins of the grapes, which 
are red. The skins of white grapes will not produce the red 
colour. The bouquet, or odour of wine, depends upon a volatile 
principle held in solution. This, in the sweet and half fermented 
wines, as in Frontignac and Muscat, is derived immediately from 
the grape ; but in the more perfect wines, as Claret, Hermitage, 
&c. it bears no resemblance to the fruit, and is wholly the pro- 
duct of the vinous process. The nutty flavour, so well known in 
Sherry, Madeira, and some other wines, is produced by almonds. 

Wines, especially those of the weaker kind, are subject to be- 
come sour by the acetous fermentation. This defect cannot be 
properly remedied, since alkalies, which neutralize the acid, com- 
municate to the wine an unpleasant taste. Oxides of lead cor- 
rect the acidity and communicate a sweet taste, but render the 
wine deleterious to health. They may be suspected to be present 
if the wine gives a dark precipitate on the addition of some liquid 
sulphuret. 

Uses. Wine is highly cordial and stimulant in its effects on 
the human system. To many persons in health, it becomes in a 
manner necessary in consequence of an artificial want produced 
by its habitual use. But it is peculiarly important to the sick, in 
all those states of disease which are attended with dangerous 
prostration, or great exhaustion of the vital powers. In the low 



raUKL 395 

stages of fever, both before and immediately after a crisis, when 
the debility is excessive, the pulse small and rapid, and the di- 
gestive organs incapable of assimilating food ; wine seems to take 
the place of nourishment, and frequently supports the patient, 
when to all appearance he must sink without it. It is particu- 
larly called for, when there exists twitching of the tendons, sliding 
down in the bed, and low muttering delirium, indicating an ad- 
vanced and dangerous state of debility. In these cases, it may 
be given with the utmost freedom, and produces a much less in- 
toxicating effect than it would on the same person in a state of 
health. It is a point of some nicety to determine the exact period 
in fevers, at which the use of wine begins to be proper. In 
general, if the debility be not great, it should not be given till af- 
ter the crisis; but if an alarming degree of prostration appears, 
attended by the symptoms which have been mentioned, wine may 
be commenced at a much earlier period. It is necessary to watch 
the effect of the first doses, and to diminish or suspend them, if 
they increase the frequency of the pulse, the heat, thirst and rest- 
lessness. On the contrary, if the pulse becomes slower and more 
soft and full under the use of wine, and the patient more compos- 
ed, we are authorized to persevere in its use, and may expect 
much benefit to result from it. 

Wine is necessary to support the strength under profuse sup- 
purations, such as occur from large abscesses, from extensive 
burns, scalds and mechanical injuries. It is called for in cases 
of gangrene, which are attended with a low pulse ; also in all cases 
of extreme exhaustion and debility, where there is no particular 
symptom to contraindicate its use. In convalescence from fevers, 
wine, moderately used, undoubtedly expedites the recovery. It 
should not, however, be carried to such an extent as to produce 
vertigo or heaviness. Nursing women derive an increase of milk 
from the use of vinous liquids, though perhaps porter and ardent 
spirits are more frequently resorted to in such cases than wine 
itself. From my own observation I am inclined to believe, that 
the custom of using vinous and spirituous liquids at an early period 
of lactation, and increasing them, as is frequently done, during 
the whole process, is more commonly injurious than useful. 



'\ 



396 VINA MEDICATA. 

Healthy females, whose living has not been previously luxurious, 
require no such stimulus. Those of different habit do not always 
prevent the symptoms of inanition, but, on the contrary, some- 
times accelerate them, by a too stimulating diet. One of the con- 
sequences, which are apt to ensue from such a course, is the pre- 
mature return of the catamenia, establishing a double drain on the 
constitution. In general, nursing mothers should delay the use 
of vinous liquids, and endeavour to accustom themselves to a milk 
diet It is time enough to commence their employment, when it 
has been ascertained that the mother cannot nurse without them. 
The desired effect of increasing the milk, and giving temporary 
support to the strength of the mother, is greater, in proportion to 
the lateness of the period at which a stimulating course is adopt- 
ed. I have found one of the best remedies for a debilitating re- 
currence of the catamenia during lactation, to be the substitution 
of a milk diet for a spirituous one. 

Exhibition. In the low delirium of fevers, and other cases of 
urgent debility, wine should be given in small doses, and fre- 
quently repeated, so that the strength shall not sink during the 
intervals. A table spoonful, or half a fluidounce, may be given 
every hour, and in urgent cases every half hour, so that from half 
to a whole bottle may be taken in twenty-four hours ; a little 
arrow root, or some other light nutriment being added with every 
other dose. The dry and strong wines, such as Madeira and 
Sherry, are best adapted to such cases. 



VINA MEDICATA. 

Medicated Wines. 

Wine somewhat resembles diluted alcohol in its solvent powers, 
and has been long used as a menstruum for different medicinal 
substances. It is subject to the objection, however, that when 
impregnated with vegetable substances, it is liable to undergo 
spontaneous changes, which render variable the strength of the 



VINA MEDICATA. 397 

compound. Wines should be prepared in small quantities, that 
they may be frequently renewed. 

Vinum Aloes. Wine of Moes. — This is an effectual cathar- 
tic, in the dose of one or two fluidounces. It is less heating than 
the tincture, and is sometimes employed a9 a stomachic, in the 
dose of a fluidrachm or two. 

Vinum Antimonii tartarizati. Wine of tartarized Anti- 
mony. — This is a very popular, but at the same time a very bad 
preparation of tartarized antimony. As the quality of wine em- 
ployed by any two apothecaries is scarcely ever the same, the 
article will always be found of uncertain strength, since all wines 
deposit a precipitate, and some a much greater one than others. 
Even Sherry, the sort directed by the British colleges, is not ex- 
empt from this objection. When some of the poorer wines are 
used, nearly the whole of the antimony is precipitated by stand- 
ing, apparently in the form of an oxide, with various impurities. 
The American Pharmacopceia directs four grains to the fluidounce 
of liquid, agreeably to the old London proportions. This wine, 
when newly prepared, is of double the strength of the present 
London and Edinburgh preparations. Apothecaries here generally 
prepare it of this strength, from finding the weaker sort so often 
complained of for inactivity. On medical grounds, a strong pre- 
paration is to be preferred to a weak one, since large quantities 
of the solvent are injurious in many of the cases for which the 
article is prescribed. 

Wine of tartarized antimony is much used by families as an 
emetic and expectorant. When good, half a fluidounce is an 
emetic for an adult in slight cases, and from a half to a whole flui- 
drachm for infants. It often, however, does harm in pulmonary 
inflammations, especially when weak, in consequence of large 
quantities of wine being introduced by frequent repetitious of the 
dose, before an operation takes place. See Tartarized antimony, 

Vinum Colchici. Wine of Meadow Saffron. — The Vinum 
colchici of the American Pharmacopceia is an imitation of the 
51 



398 VINA MEDICATA. 

Eau medecinale of Husson. That nostrum is now stated by Dr. 
Paris and others to be made from two ounces of sliced colchicum, 
macerated in four fluidounces of Spanish white wine, and filtered. 
The proportion of colchicum in this formula is very large, and 
our druggists inform me that the root nearly absorbs the quantity 
of wine ordered. It is found, that the wine of colchicum deposits 
a sediment on standing. Sir Everard Home asserts, that this se- 
diment is the chief cause of the nausea and griping, which some- 
times attend the medicine ; and that if the clear liquid be taken 
without the sediment, it is equally efficacious in gout, and free 
from these inconveniences. The dose of the depurated wine is 
from thirty to seventy minims, to be taken during a paroxysm of 
gout. Sir E. Home says, sixty minims are the smallest quantity 
that can be depended on for the removal of the paroxysm, and 
some constitutions require seventy. The general effect is no 
greater than slight nausea. Mr. Bampfield has published many 
cases of gout relieved by twenty or twenty-five minims of a wine 
made with a pound to the pint. This was taken at night with the 
addition of a little camphor, lavender, or some other aromatic, 
and repeated each following night till relief was obtained. Dr. 
Scudamore prefers the Vinegar of colchicum of the London 
College, which is made with an ounce of the fresh bulb to a pint of 
vinegar, to which is afterwards added a fluidounce of proof spirit. 

Vinum Ferri. Wine of Iron.— This is less unpalatable 
than many of the other chalybeates, with which it agrees in its 
properties. Bose, from one to four fluidrachms. 

Vinum Gentians compositum. Compound Wine of Gen- 
tian.— A grateful, warm, tonic medicine; but liable to spoil by 
keeping. Dose, half a fluidounce. 

Vinum Ipecacuanha. Wine of Ipecacuanha. — Wine is 
found to be a sufficient solvent for all the active parts of ipecacu- 
anha. This preparation furnishes a convenient liquid emetic, 
more mild and more uniform in its operation than the antimoniai 
wine. To produce vomiting, a table spoonful, or half a fluidounce, 
may be given once in twenty minutes, till it operates. To a 



VIOLA. 399 

child a year old, from half to a whole fluidrachm may be given, and 
repeated, if necessary, at the same intervals. From ten to forty 
minims act as a diaphoretic. See Wine of tartarized antimony. 

Vinum Opii. Wine of Opium. — The preparation in the Ameri- 
can Pharmacopceia is essentially the same with that employed 
by Sydenham, under the name of Laudanum. The quantity of 
opium is twice that employed by the London and Edinburgh col- 
leges in their Vinum opii, at the present day. Sydenham's 
Laudanum, like the Black drop, is probably made with a greater 
quantity of opium than the menstruum can dissolve. The dose 
of this preparation may be ten or fifteen minims. 

Vinum Rhei. Wine of Rhubarb. — This wine is purgative, 
like the tincture ; but is liable to decomposition. Dose, from a 
half to a whole fluidounce. 

Vinum Tabaci. Wine of Tobacco. — Employed as a diuretic, 
in doses of from thirty to eighty minims, three times a day, begin- 
ning with the smallest quantity, and increasing till nausea occurs. 

Vinum Veratri albi. Wine of White Hellebore. — At one 
period, this preparation was supposed by Moore and others, to be 
the basis of the Eau medecinale. It has been employed with 
some advantage in gout and rheumatism, in the dose of about a 
fluidrachm. 



VIOLA. 

Violet. 

The violets are generally mucilaginous plants, and employed 
as demulcents in catarrh and strangury. Some of them are allied 
to ipecacuanha, and contain emetin in their substance. The Vio- 
la pedata, a native species retained in the Pharmacopceia, is con- 
sidered a useful expectorant and lubricating medicine in pul- 
monary complaints, and is given in syrup or decoction. 



400 XANTHORHIZA.— XANTHOXYLUM. 



WINTERA. 

Winter's Bark. 

This bark comes from the Straits of Magellan in large pieces, 
of a somewhat cinnamon hue. It is powerfully aromatic and 
pungent, and resembles in its medicinal properties cascarilla, ca- 
nella, sassafras, &c. It is not extensively used in this country at 
the present day. Canella is sometimes sold for it. 



XANTHORHIZA. 

Fellow Root. 

This is a small shrub, growing in the southern states. The 
root affords a yellow colouring matter. Its taste is intensely bit- 
ter, with scarcely any other flavour. It is represented, by those 
who have used it, to be a valuable stomachic and tonic, perform- 
ing the office of other vegetable bitters of its class, and remaining 
easily and without inconvenience on the stomach. One or two 
scruples may be taken in powder for a dose ; or a decoction may 
be used, which extracts the bitterness of the root. 



XANTHOXYLUM. 

Prickly Ash. 

Origin. The Xanthoocylum fraxineum, is a prickly shrub, 
found in the northern, middle and western parts of the United 
States, in woods, and moist, shady declivities. 

Qualities. The leaves and rind of the fruit resemble those 
of the lemon in their smell and taste, and possess a similar vola- 
tile oil. The bark possesses a separate acrid principle, which is 
communicated to water and alcohol, but does not come over in 



ZINCUM.— ZINCI OXIDUM. 401 

distillation. The acrimony is not perceived when the bark or 
liquid is first taken into the mouth, but gradually developes itself 
by a burning sensation on the tongue and fauces. 

Uses. Prickly ash has acquired much reputation as a remedy 
in chronic rheumatism. In that disease it has an operation analo- 
gous to that of mezereon and guaiacum, which it resembles in its 
sensible properties. Taken in full doses, it produces a sense of 
heat in the stomach, a tendency to perspiration, and a relief of 
rheumatic pains. 

Exhibition. Twenty grains may be taken three times a day 
in powder ; or an ounce may be boiled in a quart of water, and 
the decoction taken during twenty-four hours. 



ZIJYCUM. 

Zinc. 

Zinc is a semiductile metal, found in different combinations in 
various parts of the world, but usually procured from the ore call- 
ed blende, which is a sulphuret of zinc. It has a peculiar taste, 
and emits a perceptible smell when rubbed. Its colour is blueish- 
white ; its fracture shining and lamellated, staining the fingers 
black when rubbed upon them. Its specific gravity is about 7. 
In a temperature between 210° and 300° it is malleable and 
ductile, and can be drawn into wire. At 680° it melts, and if 
air be present is rapidly oxidized. At the temperature of igni- 
tion it burns with a white flame, and is volatilized in the form of 
a white oxide. 



ZINCI OXIDUM. 

Oxide of Zinc, Formerly Flowers of Zinc. 

This oxide, which is volatilized by the combustion of zinc, is 
white, insipid, insoluble in water and alcohol. It is sometimes 



402 ZINCI ACETAS. 

given in chorea and hooping cough as a tonic and antispasmodic, 
in doses of from one to five grains twice a day. Externally used, 
it is astringent and desiccative. 



ZINCI OXIDUM IMPURUM. 

Impure Oxide of Zinc, Called Tutty. 

Tutty is supposed to be an artificial compound, of the sublimed 
oxide of zinc, that collects in the chimnies of furnaces, mixed 
with clay and water and baked. It is insipid, moderately heavy, 
brownish outside and yellowish within. It is used to form as- 
tringent ointments, after being reduced to a very fine powder. 



ZINCI CARBONAS IMPURUS. 

Impure Carbonate of Zinc. Called Calamine. 

Calamine is an ore of zinc, and is found in greyish or reddish- 
yellow masses, breaking with an irregular, earthy fracture, and 
without lustre. When prepared in the form of an impalpable 
powder, as directed by the Pharmacopceia, it forms a useful ab- 
sorbent and astringent application, when dusted on excoriated and 
oozing surfaces. It is the basis of an officinal cerate. 



ZINCI ACETAS. 

Acetate of Zinc. 

In the process directed by the Pharmacopceia, a double decom- 
position takes place in the salts employed, and two new com- 
pounds are formed, of which the sulphate of lead, being insoluble 



ZINCI SULPHAS. 403 

in water, is precipitated, while the acetate of zinc remains dis- 
solved, and is afterwards obtained by evaporation. It crystallizes 
in rhomboidal or hexagonal plates, soluble in water, but not alter- 
ed by exposure to the air, and burning at the temperature of igni- 
tion with a blue flame. This salt is astringent, and is applied by 
lotion and injection in cases of ophthalmia and gonorrhoea. It is 
not necessary, however, to obtain the dry salt in order to form 
a solution, since that liquid previously exists at one stage of its 
preparation. See Collyria. 



ZINCI SULPHAS. 

Sulphate of Zinc, Called White Vitriol. 

Origin. Sulphate of zinc is directed by the British colleges 
to be formed immediately from its elements, by dissolving zinc in 
sulphuric acid diluted with water. But most of the white vitriol 
of commerce is prepared from blende, or sulphuret of zinc, by ex- 
posing that ore, after roasting, to the air and moisture. The metal 
becomes oxidized and the sulphur acidified, and by mutual action 
a sulphate of zinc is formed. This is separated from the residue 
by lixiviation and crystallization. It should be afterwards purified 
by another solution, and by slow evaporation in a vessel contain- 
ing a portion of granulated zinc. 

Qualities. It crystallizes in transparent, flattish, tetrahedral 
prisms, terminated by quadrangular pyramids; but in commerce 
it usually occurs in amorphous, granular masses. Its taste is 
styptic and metallic. It is soluble in two and a half times its 
weight of cold water, and in less than its weight of boiling water. 
It contains one proportional of oxide of zinc and one of sulphuric 
acid. Its crystals have seven proportionals of water. 

Uses. In small doses this salt is tonic and astringent ; in large 
ones emetic. It is peculiarly useful in dyspepsia, in small quanti- 
ties, combined with vegetable tonics. It has been employed with 
advantage in various debilitating discharges, and in nervous and 



404 ZINGIBER. 

spasmodic diseases, particularly hooping cough. In a large dose, 
it is one of the most prompt emetics which we possess ; and is 
commonly resorted to in cases which require an immediate eva- 
cuation of the contents of the stomach, such as those in which poi- 
sons have been swallowed. Dissolved in water, it forms one of 
the most efficacious collyriain chronic ophthalmia, and is likewise 
highly useful as a gargle in ulcerated sore throat and aphthae, and 
as an injection in leucorrhcea and gleet. A saturated solution, 
used as a wash, removes slight cases of psora and some other 
eruptions. 

Exhibition. As a tonic from one to two grains, and as an 
emetic from ten to thirty grains, form a dose, to be dissolved in 
water. When vomiting is urgently required, the dose may be 
repeated at intervals of five minutes. Alkalies, earths and hydro- 
sulphurets decompose this medicine, and are incompatible with it 
See Mixture ; also Collyrium of sulphate of zinc. 



ZINGIBER. 

Ginger. 



*s y 



Ginger is a fleshy, creeping root, brought from the East Indies. 
When good, it is sound, firm, and free from worm holes. It has 
a pungent, aromatic taste and smell. The pungency resides in 
a resino-extractive matter, and the aroma in a volatile oil. But 
the principal bulk of the root is composed of faecula. Water, al- 
cohol and ether extract its virtues ; the two last by dissolving, 
and the first by suspending its active constituents. Ginger is 
more known in domestic economy than in medicine. It is, how- 
ever, a good sialagogue when topically applied ; also an effectual 
rubefacient. Internally, in doses of ten or twenty grains, it is of 
service in flatulent colic and cramp of the stomach. 



TABLE OF SYNONYMES. 



405 



a 

a 

O 

02 

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o JS -» =," "a s 

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a ° 

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o 

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Q 

CO 

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aj 

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u 

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Flores benzoin 
Acidum limoni 
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c ° 
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P2 5 
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cidi sulph 


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52 



406 



TABLE OF SYNONYMES. 



co C8 2 * § 
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TABLE OF SYNONYMES. 



407 



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408 



TABLE OF SYNONYxMES. 



9 



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1 & "SJ 
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TABLE OF SYNONYMES. 



409 



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410 



TABLE OF SYNONYMES. 





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TABLE OF SYNONYMES. 



411 

































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412 



TABLE OF SYNONYMES. 



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TABLE OF SYNONYMES* 



413 



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414 



TABLE OF SYNONYMES 



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ENGLISH INDEX 



Note. The subjects of this work being arranged in the alphabetical 

order of their Latin names, a Latin Index is considered unnecessary. 



Acacia gum 
Acetate of iron 

of lead 

of potass 

of zinc 

Aconite . . 
Adhesive plaster 
iEthiop's mineral 
Alcohol 
Almond 

mixture 

Aloes . . 

Aloetic pills 
Alteratives 
Alum 

root 

Amalgam of tin . 

Amber 

American centaury 

■ columbo 

hellebore 

*- senna 



PACxE. 

31 

186 

292 

302 

402 

51 

172 

223 

55 

67 

260 

58 

284 

20 

60 

203 

350 

353 

321 

190 

388 

119 

61 

64 

367 



Ammonia 

Ammoniated alcohol 

— — — — — — aromatic tincture 

submuriate of mer- 
cury . . .- 222 

tinct. of guaiacum 370 

« tincture of valerian 376 

Ammoniacum ... 66 

260 

171 

158 

69 

84 



mixture 

plaster 

Ammoniaret of copper 

Angelica 

9> ■ tree 





PAGE. 


Angustura 


68 


Anise 


70 


Anodyne balsam 


374 


Antacids 


24 


Anthelminthics 


ib. 


Antilithics 


ib. 


Antimony 


71 


AntimoFiial powder 


74 


Antispasmodics . 


19 


Ardent spirits 


55 


Aromatic confection 


142 


powder 


309 


syrup of rhubar 


b 357 


tincture of senr 


ta 374 


Arrow root 


255 


Arsenic 


36 


Arsenical solution 


39 


Arsenious acid 


36 


Artificial musk 


269 


Assafetida 


90 


pills 


285 


plaster 


171 


Astringents 


20 


Azedarach 


94 


Balsam of Copaiba 


145 


of Peru 


264 


Bark, Peruvian 


126 


Barley 


203 


Baryta 


. 94, 95 


Bearsfoot 


202 


Benne oil 


338 


Benzoic acid . • 


40 


Benzoin . . * 


97 


Bismuth . * 


n 



416 



ENGLISH INDEX, 



Bitter polygala 

— sweet 

Bitumen 
Black alder 
Blackberry 
Black drop 

i hellebore 

oak 

■ pepper 

snake root 

« sulphuret of mercury 

Blistering cerate 
Blood root * 
Blue flag . 

s gentian 

pills 

■ vitriol 

Blunt-leaved dock 
Borax 
Buckbean 
Buckthorn 
Burgundy pitch 
Burnt sponge 
Butterfly weed 
Butternut . 

Button snake root 

Cajuput oil , 

Calamine 

Camphor 

— — mixture 

Camphorated liniment 

c soap liniment 

Canada balsam 

— snake root 

Canella . t 
Cantharides 
Caraway . * 
Carbonate of iron , 
of lime 



of magnesia 
of potass 
of soda 



Carbonic acid 

? acid water 

Cardamom 
Carolina pink 
Carrot 
Cascarilla 
Cassia bark 

■ purging 

Castile soap 
Castor 



PAGE. 

296 
168 
99 
307 
320 

34 
202 
312 
288 
125 
223 
122 
325 
235 
195 
286 
156 
3?1 
342 
258 
313 
289 
349 

90 
237 
174 

99 
402 
103 
260 
247 

ib. 
365 

88 
106 

ib. 

lie 

185, 186 
102 
250 
301 
342 
40 
81 
114 
347 
115 
117 
242 
118 
327 
119 
317 



Catechu 

Cathartics . 

Caustics , 

Caustic, lunar 
Cayenne pepper 
Centaury, American 
Cerates 
Cerate of arsenic 

of cantharides 

— of carbonate of zinc 

— of red cedar 

_ with subacetate of lead 

of subcarbonate of lead 

Cerated glass of antimony 

Chamomile * 

Chalk mixture 

Charcoal 

Chinquapin . 

Cinnabar 

Cinnamon 

Citric acid 

Cloves 

Cold cream 

Collyria 

Collyrium of acetate of lead 

. of zinc 



PAGE, 

120 

21 

23 

85 

112 

321 

122 

ib. 

ib. 

124 

122 

123 

ib. 

74 

70 

260 

113 

119 

223 

133 

41 

116 

381 

138 

139 

ib. 



of lead 



Colocynth 
Columbo 



of opium and acetate 
of sulphate of zinc 



American 



Compound antimonial pills 

— assafetida pills 

infusion of gentian 

of roses 

of senna 



ib. 
ib, 
ib. 
140 

190 
2*4 
285 
228 

ib. 

ib. 



of lime 



liniment of turpentine 247 
mixture of iron 261 

pills of jalap 287 

of rhubarb ib. 

of sulphate of iron 285 

powder of jalap 309 

of carbonate 

ib. 
powder of scammony ib. 
resin cerate 123 

spirit of sulphuric ether 54 



sulphur ointment 
tincture of P. bark 
tincture of senna 
wine of gentian 



t onfections 
Confection of cassia 



384 
369 
375 
398 
142 
ib, 



ENGLISH INDEX. 



417 



PAGE. 

Confection of orange peel 142 

of roses . ib. 

of scaramony ib. 

of senna . 143 

Conserve of roses . 142 

Contrayerva . . . 144 

Copaiba . . . 145 

Copper . . . 154 

subacetate of . 155 

sulphate of .156 

Copperas . . . 188 

Coriander . . , 146 

Corrigenda to Pharmacopoeia 423 

Corrosive sublimate . 215 

Cowhage . . . 166 

Cranesbill . . . 196 

Cream of tartar , . 306 

Crocus of antimony . 74 

Croton . . . . 150 

Crowfoot . . . 312 

Cubebs .... 153 



Deadly nightshade 
Decoctions 
Decoction of barley 

of bitter sweet 

ofcolumbo 

of false sarsaparilla 

ofguaiacum 

of Iceland moss 

of mezereon . 

of Peruvian bark 

of sarsaparilla 

of Seneca snake root 

of squill 

of white hellebore 

of the woods 

Demulcents 
Dewberry 
Diachylon 
Diaphoretics 
Diaphoretic antimony 
Diluted alcohol 

sulphuric acid 

Distilled oils 



vinegar 
waters 



Diuretics 

Dock 

Dogsbane 

Dogwood 

Doses of medicines 

Dover's powder 

Dragon root 



96 

159 

161 

160 

ib. 

ib. 

ib. 

161 

ib. 

160 

161 

162 

161 

162 

160 

24 

320 

171 

22 

73 

57 

45 

266 

33 

83 

21 

320,321 

79 

147 

29 

309 



Dried alum 

subcarbonate of 



soda 



Dyer's saffron 

Elaterium 
Elder 

Elecampane 
Elixir asthmatic 

proprietatis 

sacrum 

salutis 



— - — of vitriol 

Emetics 

Emmenagogues 

Emollients 

Epispastics 

Epsom salt 

Ergot 

Errhines 

Erythronium 

Escharotics 

Ether 

Ethereal oil 

Expectorants 

Extracts 

Extract of aconite 

of butternut 

— = of black hellebore 

of chamomile 



PAGE. 

61 
341 
115 

169 

325 

229 

367 

366 

374 

375 

ib. 

20 

22 

25 

23 

252 

321 

23 

174 

23 

52 

54 

22 

179 

180 

181 

ib. 

ib. 



— of colocynth, compound 182 

— of deadly nightshade 
-- of elder 

— of gentian 

— of hemlock 

— of henbane 

— of jalap 

— of liquorice 

— of logwood 

— of May apple 

— of Peruvian bark 

— of quassia 



False sarsaparilla 

Fennel 

Fever root 

Figs 

Filings of iron 

Flaxseed 

oil 

Fleabane 

Flesh-coloured asclepias 

Flowers of zinc 

Foxglove 

Fowler's arsenical solution 



180 
182 
181 

ib. 

ib. 
182 
198 
181 
182 

ib. 

ib. 

84 
190 
379 
189 
185 
245 

ib. 
173 

89 
401 
162 

39 



418 



ENGLISH INDEX. 



PAGE. 




PAGE. 


Galbarmm 


191 


Infusion of Peruvian bark with 


Galls 


ib. 


magnesia 


227 


Gamboge 


193 


of quassia 


228 


Garlic ; 


58 


w ith sulphate 


Gentian 


194 


of zinc 


ib. 


infusion of 


228 




Gillenia 
Ginger 


197 


r\f f.livM-\AWTr r>lm 


229 
ib. 


404 


of tobacco 


Glass of antimony 


74 


of valerian 


ib. 


Glauber's salt 


344 


of Virginia snake 


root ib. 


Gold 


92 


Ipecacuanha 


230 


Gulden rod 


346 


spurge 


176 


sulphur of antimony 


73 


Iron 


183 


Goldthread 


148 


carbonate of 


185 


Goulard's cerate 


123 


filings . , 


ib. 


. extract 


295 


phosphate of 


187 


Gravel root 


176 


prussiate of 


ib. 


Grey oxide of mercury 


213 


red oxide of 


185 


Guaiacum . .199 


,200 


sulphate of 


188 


Gum arabic 


31 


tartrate of 


189 






Isinglass . , 


225 


Hardhack 


348 






Hellebore 


202 


Kino 


240 


Hemlock 


143 






Henbane 


224 


Lactucarium 


241 


Hiera picra 


308 


Lard . 


52 


Hoffman's anodyne liquor 


54 


Large flowering spurge 


178 


Honey 


256 


Larkspur 


162 


Hop 


204 


Laudanum 


372 


Horehound 


255 


Lavender 


242 


Horse radish 


87 


Lead 


290 


Hydrosulphuret of ammonia 


66 


plaster 


171 






acetate of 


290 


Iceland moss 


243 


subcarbonate of 


291 


Impure carbonate of zinc 


402 


semivitrified oxide c 


f ib. 


— oxide of zinc 


ib. 


Lenitive electuary 


143 


subcarbonat p n f pf»f»ss 


299 


Leopard's bane 
Lignum vitae 


87 


Indian tobacco 


248 


199 


. ■ turnip 


88 


Lime 


100 


Infusions 


225 


water 


101 


Infusion of angustura 


226 


Liniments 


246 


of Carolina pink 


229 


Liniment of ammonia . 


ib. 


— of cascarilla 


226 




tar- 




ib. 


tarized antimony 


ib. 




227 


247 


of flaxseed 

of foxglove 


228 

227 




246 




m 247 






- of horse radish 


226 


of tobacco 


~ib. 


of Peruvian bark 


ib. 


Linseed oil . . 


245 


, with 




Liquid acetate of ammoni 


a 65 


lemon juice 


227 


cnkrt/>Afri + r» r\T 1 d r\ f\ 


295 


Liquorice 
Lisbon diet drink 


198 


lime water 


226 


16* 



ENGLISH INDEX, 



419 



Litharge 



(lead) plaster 



Lithontriptics 
Logwood 
Lunar caustic 

Madder 
Magnesia 

mixture 

Magnolia 

Manna 

Marsh rosemary 

Masterwort 

May apple '. 

weed 

Meadow saffron 
Measures and weights 
Medicated waters 



Mer 



cury 



ammon. submuriate of 

black sulphuret of 

grey oxide of 

nitric oxide of 

oxymuriate of 

purified 

red sulphuret of 

submuriate of 

■ yellow subsulphate of 

Mercurial ointment 

pills 

■ plaster 

Mezereon 

Milder ointm. of nitrate of mere. 
Mixtures 

Mixture of ammoniacum and an 
timony 

-. of carbonate of lime 

Monarda 
Musk . 

mixture 

Muriatic acid 
Muriate of ammonia 

of ammonia and iron 

of antimony 



PAGE. 

291 

171 

24 

201 



319 

249 
261 
253 
254 
350 
203 
295 
149 
135 
26 
81 
396 
205 
222 
223 
213 
214 
215 
213 
223 
218 
222 
381 
286 
171 
259 
383 
260 



Nitrate of silver 

Nitre 

Nitric acid 

oxide of mercury 



— of baryta 

— of gold 

— of soda 



Mustard 
Myrrh 
mixture 

Narcotics 
Nitrate of potass 



ib 

ib. 

261 

262 

261 

41 

62 

186 

75 

95 

92 

343 

339 

265 

261 

19 
303 



Nutmeg 



Oatmeal . . 93 

Oil of almonds . 68 

— of amber . . 269 

— of anise . . 267 

— of cinnamon . 134 

— of cloves . . 117 

— of fennel . . 268 

— of juniper . ib. 

— of lavender . ib. 

— of lemon . . 244 

— of mace . . 264 

— of monarda . 268 

— of nutmeg . 264 

— of origanum . 268 

— of partridge berry . ib. 

— of pennyroyal . 267 

— of peppermint . 261 

— of pimento . 268 

— of rosemary . ib. 

— of sassafras . . 269 

— of spearmint . 268 

— of turpentine . 362 

— ofwormseed . 267 
Ointments . . 380 
Ointment of American hellebore 384 

of ammon. subm. mere. ib. 

of cantharides 381 

of galls . ib. 

of grey oxide of mere. 383 

of nitrate of mercury ib. 

of nitric acid 381 

of nitric ox. of mere. 383 

of rose water 381 

of stramonium 384 

ofsubacetate of copper 381 

of subcarbonate of lead 384 

Olive oil . . 269 

Opium . . 270 

Opiated tincture of camphor 367 

Opodeldoc . . 247 
Orange peel 



PAGE. 

85 
303 

43 
214 
263 



235 

269 

73 

401 

Oxymuriate of mercury 215 

of mere, solution of 218 

of mere. tincture of ib. 



Orris Florentine 
Oxidated oil of amber 
Oxide of antimony 
of zinc 



420 



ENGLISH INDEX. 



Paregoric elixir 
Parsley 

Partridge berry 
Pearl ash 

Pellitory of Spain 
Pennyroyal 
Pepper 
Peppermint 
Persimmon 
Peruvian bark 
Phosphate of iron 
————— of lime 
of soda 



PAGE. 

367 
280 
194 
299 
310 
154 
288 
257 
166 
126 
187 
103 
345 
280 
283 
284 
ib. 



Phosphorus 
Pills 

■ of aloes and colocynth 

of aloes and myrrh 

of aloes, myrrh & guaiacum ib. 

. of arsenic . . 285 

■ of compound extract of co- 
locynth 

of gamboge and scammony 

of muriate of gold 

of myrrh and iron 

of opium 

of oxy muriate of mercury 

of squill 

of subcarbonate of soda 

— — of submuriate of mercury 

of sulphate of iron 

Pimento 

Pine resin 

Plasters 

Plaster of iron 

of subcarbonate of lead 



Pleurisy root 

Poison oak 

Poke 

Polypody 

Pomegranate 

Potass 

with lime 

Potatoe flies 

Powders 

Powder of aloes and canella 

of ipecac. & sulph. cop, 



of ipecac, and opium 

of tin 

Precipitated carbonate of iron 

sulph. of antimony 

Prepared honies 

carbonate of lime 

Prickly ash ... 

Prunes .... 



ib. 
286 
285 
287 

ib. 
286 
287 
288 
287 
285 
288 
313 
170 
171 
172 

90 
377 
282 
296 
199 
297 
298 
112 
308 

ib. 
309 

ib. 
350 
186 

73 
256 
102 
400 
307 



Prussiate of iron 

Prussic acid . 

Pure subcarbonate of potass 

Purging cassia 

Purified mercury 

vinegar 

Pyrola 

Quassia 
Quicksilver 

Raisins 
Red cedar 

oxide of iron 

precipitate 

sanders 

sulphuret of mercury 

Refrigerants 
Resin cerate 

of guaiacum 

plaster 



Rhubarb 

Rochelle salt 

Rose 

Rosemary 

Round-leaved dogwood 

Rust of iron 



Saffron 



dyers' 



Sago 

Sal ammoniac 

Salep 

Salt of tartar 

Sanders, red 

Sarsaparilla 

false 



Sassafras 
Savin 

cerate 

Scammony 

Sedatives . 

Semivitrified oxide of 

Seneca snake root 

Senna 

Sialagogues . 

Silk weed . * 

Silver 

Simarouba 

Simple cerate 

ointment 



syrup 



Skunk cabbage 
Slippery elm 



lead 



ENGLISH INDEX. 



421 



Snake root 



Canada 



Soap .... 327 

cerate . • . 123 

Soda, carbonate of . . 342 

muriate of . . 343 

■ phosphate of . . 345 

subcarbonate of . 340 

sulphate of . . 344 

Soluble tartar ... 304 
Solution of alkaline iron . 189 

of ammoniaret of copp. 158 

of muriate of baryta 96 

of muriate of lime 103 

of oxymuriate of mere. 218 

of potass . . 298 

of subcarbonate of potass 302 

of sulphate of copper 157 

106 



PAGE. 

337 



Spanish flies 

Spearmint 

Spermaceti 

Spirits 

Spirit of juniper 

of lavender 

of mindererus 

of nitrous ether 

of rosemary 

of sulphuric ether 

Sponge 

Spurred rye 

Squill 

Stag's horn 

Star grass 

Stimulants 

Strengthening plaster 

Subacetate of copper 

Subborate of soda 

Subcarbonate of ammonia 

of lead 

of potass 

of soda 

Subnitrate of bismuth 
Suet . . . . 
Sugar 

of lead 

Sumach 

Supercarbonated magnesia water 

... potass water 

soda water 



Supertartrate of potass 
Sulphate of baryta 

of iron 

of copper 

of magnesia 

; of potass 

54 



258 
346 
348 

ib. 

ib. 

65 

55 
348 

54 
349 
331 
330 
147 

57 

18 
171 
155 
342 

64 
292 
300 
340 

98 
338 
322 
292 
316 

82 

ib. 

83 
306 

94 
188 
156 
252 
304 



Sulphate of soda 

of zinc . 

of zinc mixture 

Sulphur 

Sulphur ointment 
Sulphuret of antimony 

of potass 

of soda 

Sulphuretted oxide of antimony 
Sulphuric acid 

ether 

Swamp dogwood 

Sweet flag root 

tincture of rhubarb 



Syrups 

Syrup of buckthorn 

of garlic 

of ginger 

of meadow saffron 

of orange peel . 

of rhubarb 

of rhubarb and senna 

of Seneca snake root 

of sarsaparilla 

ofsarsap. andguaiacum 

of squill 

of Tolu . 

of vinegar 



Tamarind . 
Tansy 
Tapioca 
Tar . 

ointment 

pills 

Tartar emetic 
Tartarized antimony 
Tartrate of iron 

of potass 

of potass and soda 



Terms of classification 

Thoroughwort 

Thorn apple 

Tin . 

Tinctures . 

Tincture of acetate of iron 

of aloes 

of aloes and myrrh 

of American helleboi 

of angustura 

— of assafetida 

of black hellebore 

of bloodroot 

of camphor 

— — of cantharides 



PAGE. 

344 
403 
261 
353 
384 

72 
355 
356 

74 

44 

52 
148 
100 
374 
356 
357 
356 
358 
357 
356 
357 

ib. 
358 
357 

ib. 
358 

ib. 
356 

360 
361 

ib. 
289 
384 
287 

75 

ib. 
189 
304 
305 

17 
175 
351 
349 
365 
369 
366 

ib. 
376 
367 

ib. 
370 
374 
367 
363 



422 



ENGLISH INDEX, 



PAGE. 

Tincture of cardamom . 368 

of castor . . ib. 

of catechu . . ib. 

of Cayenne pepper ib. 

of Cayenne pepper & 

cantharides ... ib. 

of cinnamon . 369 

of columbo . ib. 

of foxglove . ib. 

of gentian . . 370 

■ of guaiacum . ib. 

of henbane . 371 

of hop . . ib. 

of Indian tobacco ib. 

of jalap . . ib. 

■ of kino . . ib. 

of lavender . ib. 

. of musk . . 372 

- — of muriate of iron 370 

of myrrh . . 372 

•= of opium . . ib. 

of peppermint . 371 

of Peruvian bark 368 

of quassia . . 373 

of rhubarb . ib. 

of rhubarb and aloes 374 



■ — of rhubarb and gentian ib. 

■ of soap and opium ib. 

■ of spearmint . 372 

of sulphuric acid ., 375 

of thorn apple . ib. 

of Tolu . . 376 

of valerian . ib. 

of Virginia snake root 375 

Tobacco .... 358 

Tolu .... 376 

Tonics .... 20 

Tormentil ... 377 

Tragacanth ... 378 

Troches .... 379 

of carbonate of lime ib. 

of liquorice and opium ib. 

■ of magnesia . ib. 

Tulip tree ... 248 

Turpentine . 362 

Turmeric . . . . 159 

Turpeth mineral . . 222 

Tutty .... 402 

Uvaursi .... 358 

Valerian .... 386 

Verdigris .... 155 

Veronica . . . . 390 



Vinegar 



of opium 

of squill 

Violet 

Virginia snake root 

Vitriol, blue 

— green 

white 



Vitriolated tartar 
Vitrified oxide of antimony 
Volatile liniment 
salt 



Vomic nut 

Warner's gout cordial 
Water 

avens 

of ammonia 

dock 

of subcarbonate 



moma . 
Wax . 

Weights and measures 
White arsenic 

hellebore . 

lead 

mixture 

oak 

oxide of bismuth 

precipitate 

vitriol 

Wild cherry tree 

ginger 

horehound 

lettuce 

marjoram . 

potatoe 

Willow 
Wine 

of aloes 

of ipecacuanha 

of iron 

of meadow saffron 

of opium . 

of rhubarb 

of tobacco 

Winter's bark 
Wormseed 

Yeast .... 124 

Yellow root . . ■ • 400 

Yellow subsulphate of mercury 222 



of 



PAGE. 
32 

34 

35 
399 
337 
156 
188 
403 
304 

74 
246 

64 
265 



am- 



Zinc . 



401 



Corrigenda of the American Pharmacopceia. 

I he following list of corrigenda to the U. S. Pharmacopoeia was 
published sometime after that work. It contains those corrections 
which were considered necessary by the Publishing Committee, to 
remedy some accidental omissions and discrepances, and to con- 
form the work more perfectly to the views of the General Conven- 
tion. As the present volume is founded on the American Pharma- 
copoeia, thus corrected, it has been thought useful to reprint the list 
in this place. 

Page 32, line 9. For Casssa, read Cassia. 

34. Insert Cunila Cunila pulegioides. 

Pennyroyal. W. I. 122. 

■ 55, 56. Strike out the articles Origanum and Sambucus, repeated 

here by mistake. 
— — 64. Under Acidum Sulphuricum Diltttum, for septem, read de- 
cern ; and in the English, p. 65, for seven, read ten. 

> 68, line 4. For uncias, read fluiduncias ; and in the English, p. 69, 

for one pint, read twelve fluidounces. 
At the end of this formula add, 
Agitando misce hujus aetheris fluiduncias quatuordecim cum potassae 
uncia dimidia in aqua: distillates unciis binis soluta ; dein calore ad gra- 
dum cxx, ex retorta ampla in excipulum frigidum distillent fluidunciae duo- 
decim. 

And in the English, 
Mix by shaking fourteen fluidounces of this ether with half an ounce of 
potass dissolved in two fluidounces of water. Then, with a heat of 120°, 
distil twelve fluidounces from a large retort into a cold receiver. 

70. Under Alcohol Diltttum, in both lines, for octantem unum, 

read libram unam ; and in the English, in both lines, for pint, read pound. 

74, line 5. For Ammonite Carbonas, read Ammonia Subcarbo- 

nas ; and in the English, p. lb, for Carbonate of Ammonia, read 
Subcarbonate OF Ammonia. Make a corresponding correction where- 
ever this name occurs. 

78, line 1. For Antimonii Oxidum, read Antimonii Oxidum Sul- 

phuratum ; and in the English, for Oxide, read Sulphuretted 
Oxide. 

On the same page insert the following formula : 

ANTIMONII OXIDUM. 

R. Antimonii in pulverein triti uncias octo ; 

Potassae nitratis in pulverem triti libras duas. 
Misce et gradatim in crucibulum igne rubens immitte. Ure materiam 
albam circiter horam dimidiam, et frigefactam in pulverem tere ; dein 
aqua distillata lava. 

And in the English, 

OXIDE OF ANTIMONY. 

FORMERLY DIAPHORETIC ANTIMONY. 

Take of Antimony, in powder, eight ounces ; 

Nitrate of potass, in powder, two pounds. 

Mix and throw them gradually into a red hot crucible. Burn the white 
matter for about half an hour, and, when cold, powder it ; after which 
wash it with distilled water. 

Note. The above, is the article directed p. 176 and p. 178. 



424 

Page 82. After each of the names, AauA MagnEsije, AauA Potass je, 
and AauA Sodje, insert Supercarbonata ; and before the English 
names of the same articles, p. 83, insert Supercarbonated. 

• 84, line 5. For octantes decern, read congium unum ; and in the 

English, p. 85, for ten pints, read one gallon. 

86. In the name of the second article, for Arsejviatis, read Ar« 

SENITIS. 

■ 93, line 4. For boiling water, read boiling distilled water. 

■ 104, article 4. For Scammoni^e, read Scammojvii, et passim. 

106, line 7. After Glycyrrhizse, insert radicis; also on pages 112, 

114, 150, 178, 180,212,240. 

— — 107, lines 7 and 8. Transpose the words three and four. 

Line 8. After Liquorice, insert root; also on pages 113, 115, 151, 
179,181,213, 241. 

108, 1st and 3d articles. Transpose LiauoR to the beginning of the 

name. 

Line 7. For Prjeparatum, read Prjeparatus. 

110, line 8. Strike out cum semisse ; and in the English, p. Ill, 

strike out and a half. 

114, line 5 from bottom. After Guaiaci read ligni. Ditto p. 212, I. 

18. In English insert wood, 

— — 116, lines 16 and 17. After Veratri add Albi. 

124, line 14. For madefiant, read madefactis, 

165, line 16. Before antimony insert tartarized. 

166, line 8. Between cum and aqua insert saccharo et. 

167, line 8. For water, read sugar and water. 

188, line 5. For carbonatis, read subcarbonatis purissimi ; and in the 

English, p. 189, for carbonate, read pure subcarbonate. Ditto p. 194, 
195,1.2. 

Line 6 from bottom. For carbonatis, read subcarbonatis ; and in the 
English, p. 189, for carbonate, read subcarbonate. Ditto p. 74, 75, 
1. 13, 12. 
— — 190, line 10. For Carbonas, read Subcarbonas Purissimus ; and 
in the English, p. 191, for Carbonate, read Pure Subcarbonate. 

192, 193. Erase the formula for preparing Potass^e Sulphas (Sul- 
phate of Potass) and transfer the article to the Materia Medica List. 

194, line 1. For Supercarbonas, read Carbonas ; and in English, 

for Supercarbonate, read Carbonate. 

Line 13. For quindecim, read duodecim ; and in English, p. 195, for 

fifteen, read twelve. 

194, line 20. Remove Tartras to the end of the name. 

203, line 17. For twenty, read twenty-four; and 1. 22, for twenty- 
four hours, read two days. 

220, line 3 from bottom. Strike out diluti. 

223, line 6. For Liquorice, read Extract of liquorice. 

228, for the names of the two first formulas, read Tinctura Ferri 

Acetatis, and Tinctura Ferri Muriatis. 
— - 240. Under Tinctura Sennje Aromatica, insert Rhei contusi un- 

ciam unam ; and in the English, p. 241, 1. 3, insert Rhubarb bruised, one 

ounce. 
246, lines 10 and 12. For nitrosi, read nitrici ; and, in 12th line, for 

sex, read quatuor ; and in the English, p. 247, for nitrous, read nitric, 

and for six, read four. 

- 248, bottom line of note. Strike out seu terebinthina? ; and in the 
English, p. 249, strike out or of turpentine. 

- 253, line 10. For Mix, read Melt. 



Note. When the word parts is used in the Pharmacopoeia, parts by 
weight are to be taken. 



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